Behind the Most Cherished Smile is the Saddest Frown
by Raphianna
Summary: *sequel to Sodor's Precious Child* Everyone loves Thomas, absolutely loves him. But one thing has been bugging the people on Sodor. Why did Thomas come to their island? And under what circumstances? *FINAL CHAPTER UP*
1. Chapter 1

**Behind the Most Cherished Smile is the Saddest Frown**

…

Thomas had been on the Island of Sodor for almost three months, after arriving from England on ship. Everyone absolutely adored him. Especially his siblings Edward, Rosie, and Gordon.

The fifteen year old even got his own train and job at the yard, shunting trucks. It was perfectly fine for Thomas because he was close to Edward, even if he was a mixed traffic worker and often did other jobs outside of the yard. He loved his train as well. It was very special to him.

His train was painted blue with red trim, and had a yellow number '1' on both sides also outlined with red. It had a short stumpy boiler, a short stumpy dome, a short stumpy funnel, and six small wheels. It was perfect in Thomas' eyes, and he absolutely loved it.

One day, while Thomas was working, Edward was taking a break, and chatting with Rosie and Gordon, who had come to visit.

"Isn't he adorable?" Rosie cooed as she watched her baby brother working, shunting trucks while singing.

Gordon chuckled. "He is. But…"

"But what, Gordon?" Edward asked, putting down his water bottle, staring at him inquiringly.

"But," began Gordon. "My question is, why was it only him?" the twenty four year old asked.

"What do you mean?" Rosie asked.

"I mean," Gordon started, "England is a big place, and from certain circumstances, Thomas came here from, dare I say it, an orphanage."

Edward gasped. "Well… why do you think that?"

"Think about it." Gordon started. "Thomas most likely wouldn't have come here if he had parents, or any other relatives for that matter. And like I said, England is a big place, so disasters are sure to happen at any point…"

"Are you suggesting, that Thomas' parents died?" Rosie asked quietly.

"Or did not want him…" Edward spoke hesitantly. "Because not all disasters are caused by nature…"

"Exactly." Gordon said. "And… my earlier question is still bothering me. Why did only Thomas come here?" He asked. "Surely, others, even if only a few, would have arrived here with him…"

"I know..," Rosie mumbled. "It's very puzzling..,"

"Oh good." A voice said behind them. "I was afraid I was the only who wondered that."

Edward, Rosie and Gordon turned around and saw their friend, seventeen year old Percy.

"Hey Percy." Rosie greeted. "What's up?"

"Hi Rosie." Percy greeted. "I heard you talking about Thomas' background, correct?"

"That's right." Edward said. "We- well, originally Gordon, but now all of us, were wondering about Thomas' past."

Percy nodded, and breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm glad I'm not the only one who wonders about that."

"You're curious too?" Gordon questioned.

"Yes," Percy said. "And I'm honestly shocked that not many other people are curious about it either."

"Well, to others, he's probably just another arrival" Edward pointed out.

"While I agree with you to an extent brother," Rosie said. "He's still Sodor's Precious Child, so he's a little more than 'just another arrival'"

"And he's only _fifteen_. He's a child. Granted, there are others here that are teens-, Percy, Toby, Flora, and Stanley but…" Rosie trailed

"All of you had a reason to come here." She finished. "But Thomas- he seemed to come here for no reason…."

"And if there is a reason," Gordon said. "Thomas hasn't told us..,"

"That is true..," Edward mumbled.

Then they all heard crying behind them.

They turned around to see their best friend, their baby brother sitting in his cab… crying. Holding his knees to his chest, his face hidden, and his form shaking

They saw no physical injuries, so he wasn't hurt and no one was around, so no one could've made fun of him.

"Ok…" Gordon said, his voice heavy with concern. "There's definitely something he's not telling us…"

"Agreed." Mumbled Edward.

Then, they watched Thomas stand up, wiping his eyes, and clearing his throat. He grabbed a water bottle from the floor of his cab, and drank it down. He then put a smile on his face, and continued working and singing, except, this time it was different….

Thomas' singing sounded strained, cracked.., _broken_.

And if they looked close enough, Edward, Rosie, Gordon, and Percy could all see Thomas' eyes glistening with unshed tears.

"We have to find out what he's hiding." Percy said. "He looks so sad underneath that smile..,"

"But we have to be gentle." Rosie said. "If we're too persistent, he could close himself away from us…"

Gordon then asked a question that would be stuck in their minds.

"But _how_ are we going to ask him?"

…

 **Here's the new story I promised!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Behind the Most Cherished Smile is the Saddest Frown Ch. 2**

 **A/N. Merry (early) Christmas! Also, this is going to be a looong timeskip.., I started 'Sodor's Precious Child' when the weather (in the story) was spring. I then said in the first chapter of this story that Thomas had been on Sodor for a few months, which would indicate that now, in the story it should at least be late spring, or early summer.**

 **But I'm going to start this chapter in winter near Christmas, so just imagine that Thomas had been there now for a while.**

…

Snow fell silently onto the grounds of Sodor- the snowflakes like silent dancers gracefully descending to the empty streets below.

The island of Sodor was covered in a sparkling blanket of white, the yellow street lamps contrasting beautifully against the ground.

It was around six pm, it was dark and the streets and railways were empty, except for some few people, walking home on that cold, crisp, snowy night.

Twenty nine year old, Edward Hill was one of those people. He was walking back to his shared home, Tidmouth Sheds, after a last hard day of work before break.

He put his hands in his pockets, as he shivered, but smiled, feeling the small present in the pocket of his overcoat for Thomas.

Thomas, a teenager at the age of fifteen was Edward, Rosie, and Gordon's baby brother. He was practically an angel's gift sent to Sodor. Everyone loved him, but soon, questions begin to arise.

These questions came around back in the early spring, when Thomas had only been there for a few months, but no one had the courage to ask these questions. They didn't even know if these questions were real or not, and if they were, they didn't know how it would affect Thomas. Why was it only Thomas who came to Sodor? If he really came from England, what was the reason? Surely, if the reason had been an accident, Thomas wouldn't have come there if he had any relatives.

So something must have happened. Tragedy or not, they had to know.

Edward sighed in sadness as he neared the door to his home, but quickly pushed aside his thoughts, and smiled again, remembering what fun he'll have with his friends and siblings.

Everyone at Tidmouth had decided to have a little 'post-Christmas party' before Christmas day came. They just wanted to have fun.

The twenty nine year old smiled again as he reached the door to home when he heard Christmas music, and people singing along.

He opened the door, and walked in, a pleasant warm feeling rushing over him as heat from inside warmed him up from the cold outside, melting the snow that had fallen on his body and hair. He stepped inside fully, and shut the door.

"Merry Christmas, everyone!" Edward called out above the music, singing, and people decorating.

Everyone turned to him, and smiled.

"Merry Christmas!" Henry called out, and waving.

"Hi Edward!" Percy said. "Hope you had a good day!"

"Hi Edward, glad you're home." Emily smiled.

Toby and Flora smiled. "Hi Edward!" the two siblings said in sync.

James smiled. "Hey, Edward! Hope you're cold! Because we have tons of hot chocolate!"

Hiro smiled as well. "Good to see you, my friend!"

"Hi everyone." Edward smiled. "Yes, Percy, I did. And don't worry, James, I'll have one." He said.

Then Gordon came from basement, holding two stacks of presents, one in each arm. "Hello Edward!" he said. "Do you mind giving me a hand?"

Edward shook his head, while smiling. He took off his coat, hung it up, and walked over to his taller, but younger brother. "You know, if you just didn't carry so many presents, you wouldn't have this problem." He said, as he took a stack of presents.

Gordon only shook his head, wearing a big smile on his face. "Well, there's two presents for everyone, and I didn't feel like making extra trips."

Edward laughed as he and Gordon made their way to the Christmas tree. "If you say so. Where's Rosie and Thomas?"

Then, as if on cue, Rosie popped her head out of the kitchen, smiling. 'I'm right here!" she chirped. She walked out of the kitchen, holding a tray of freshly baked cookies. She set them on the table, and dusted her hands off on her apron. "And.., I think Thomas is upstairs."

"Upstairs?" Edward asked, looking up into the upstairs hallway, which was almost pitch black. "Why would he be upstairs? It's so dark."

"It wasn't a few hours ago." Rosie said.

"You mean he's been up there for hours?" Edward asked. At this point, it became quiet, as the music and singing stopped, and everyone's attention was on the three Hill siblings. **(My (online) sister, Goldsaddletank, helped my think of Edward, Rosie, Gordon, and Thomas' last name. Since they're all siblings, their last name, is Hill)**

"Unfortunately, yes." Gordon confirmed. "And he didn't seem too happy either."

"Didn't you try talking to him?" Edward asked, concerned.

"We did." Rosie said. "But when we tried, he just said to leave him alone. So, we did as he wished, and left him alone. But we did check on him, from time to time. We hoped that at some point he'd come back down, but he never did."

"I'm going to go talk to him." Edward said as he made his way to the stairs.

Percy looked worried. "Are you, sure you wanna do that Edward?" He asked. "He seemed really upset."

"All the more reason for me to talk to him, Percy." Edward said, as he walked up a few steps. "He's my baby brother, and if something were troubling him, I'd want to see if he was ok. I'd do the same for Rosie and Gordon." He said. "I also know Henry would do the same for you."

Percy then felt an arm wrap around his middle. He looked up and saw Henry smiling at him. He smiled back, and leaned against his big brother's side. "Alright Edward." Percy said.

Edward smiled then made his way up the stairs. Everyone downstairs then went back to what they were doing, but with a tinge of worry in their hearts….

…

Edward walked through the dark hallway, not needing to turn on the light, as he knew where to go, and whose room was whose. He first walked past Toby and Flora's room, next Henry and Percy's room, then James and Hiro's room.

Finally, he got to his room that he shared with Rosie, Gordon, and Thomas. Slowly, he opened the door, and stepped inside.

The room was pitch black, except for a window that was letting in snowy moonlight, dimly lighting up a small portion of the room. He saw a silhouette by the window, and he knew without a doubt it was Thomas.

Slowly, he walked forward, his hand out to the side, feeling for a lamp. Finally, he felt it, and flicked it on, bathing the room in a soft yellow light. With the room lit a bit more, Edward was finally able to properly see Thomas, who was sitting in a chair by the window, his chin propped in his right hand. Edward also noted that the fifteen year old was holding something in his left hand- a picture.

"Thomas…?" Edward called out softly.

Thomas turned around, mildly startled. "Wha- Edward? What are you doing up here?" he asked.

"I should be asking _you_ that, Thomas." Edward said. "What are you doing up here? All of our friends and our siblings are downstairs."

Thomas sighed. "I'm… sorry, Edward, but.., I have a lot on my mind..,"

Edward slowly walked forwards. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No… yes… I don't know…" Thomas mumbled putting his head in his hands, and putting his hands in knees.

Edward walked forward, and got down on his knees, in front of Thomas. That's when he noticed the picture.

"Hey.., is that a picture?" Edward asked.

Thomas looked up- was he glaring? Before Edward could properly wonder, the glare- if there even was one- disappeared.

Slowly, Thomas nodded.

"Can I see?" Edward asked again.

Thomas dropped the picture, and nodded.

Edward ignored his attitude and picked up the picture, looking at it closely, while resting his hand atop Thomas'.

The picture showed three people- two adults and one baby. All of them were smiling. They looked happy.

The woman, who was on right, and holding the baby look to be in her early twenties. She had blue hair, with black highlights, and grey/silver eyes. She was wearing a short sleeve purple dress that went to her knees. That was all Edward could see. The man, who was on the left, was substantially taller than the women, and had his left arm wrapped around the woman's waist. He had brown hair and blue eyes. He was wearing a black suit, with a blue tie. The baby had the same blue eyes that the man had, and had some blue hair growing on his head. He was in overalls, with a white t-shirt underneath, and had red and blue striped socks covering his feet.

"Are these… you and your parents, Thomas?" Edward asked.

"They were…" Thomas said quietly. "But I never considered them my parents after a while..,"

"Why's that?"

It was a moment before Thomas spoke. He looked like he was struggling.

"… I... I don't want to talk about it..!" Thomas finally said quite loudly. Not loud enough to be considered a yell, but loud enough to startle Edward, and make him jump back, and stand. Thomas stood next, snatched the picture from Edward's hand, and ran downstairs.

"Thomas!" Edward called out, running after him.

Edward reached Thomas just as he reached the living room.

Everyone else was there, and watching with wide eyes, shocked. Edward just shook his head.

Thomas was now standing in front of the fireplace, as he stared at the picture in his hands with malice. Before anyone could say anything, Thomas spoke.

"These things won't happen again…" he mumbled. "I won't let it…" then the sound of ripping could be heard. It sounded slow and deliberate.

He ripped the picture. He ripped it in two. One part had the baby, the other part had the two adults. The only picture Thomas had of his family, as far as the others knew, was ripped. Why wasn't he crying?

Thomas then knelt down in front of the fire on his knees, and threw the piece of the picture that had the adults into the flaming coals. Everyone watched as the picture withered and burnt away into ashes.

Thomas watched, as he held onto the other part of the picture- the one that had the baby, firmly in his hand.

Then, in the most heartbroken tone Thomas ever used, he whispered…

"Merry Christmas…"


	3. Author's Note

Review from Chromestone (did I spell that right? I hope so):

 _I'm a bit confused... If Rosie and Gordon are supposed to be Thomas' sibblings, then why don't they know about his parents and the past? Is he supposed to be adopted? That would explain it, but otherwise the three of them would have the same parents, and probably a similar past, that is, if by any special circumstance the other two weren't separated from Thomas and their parents from an early age. Your writing and description style is very good, so keep up the good work!_

First of all, thank you!

Second, please read my other story, 'Sodor's Precious Child' before this one.  
'Behind the Most Cherished Smile is the Saddest Frown' is a sequel to that story.

But either way, is anyone confused about how Edward, Rosie, Gordon, and Thomas are siblings, but Edward, Rosie, and Gordon don't know about Thomas' past? Well, here's the explanation!

Before Thomas came to the island, (please read my other story, Sodor's Precious Child to understand) Edward, Rosie and Gordon all had different last names.

Edward Pearsall

Rosie Jardine

Gordon Cader

Meanwhile, with Thomas, he _did_ have a last name with his parents, but when he was found by some other people, he refused to give a last name, so he was just- Thomas.

When he came to England, remember how the sailor introduced him?

 _"May I present, Thomas from England."_

The man would have most likely used his last name, but he (the sailor) was never given Thomas' last name, so he only said Thomas.

In the end of 'Sodor's Precious Child', it is said that Edward, Rosie, and Gordon all legally became Thomas' older siblings. In other words, they adopted him. In doing so, all of them (Edward, Rosie, Gordon, and Thomas) became siblings, and then they all had the same last name.

Hill.

Now, all of their last names are Hill.

And that's how Edward, Rosie, and Gordon are Thomas' siblings, but don't know about their parents, or past.


	4. Chapter 3

**Behind the Most Cherished Smile is the Saddest Frown Ch. 3**

 **WARNING: THIS PART OF THE STORY WILL BE** _ **DARK**_ **! I CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH. THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS FLASHBACKS OF THOMAS' PAST THAT HAS ABUSE AND DETAILED/GRAPHIC CONTENT. READ AT OWN RISK. Please don't flame, I gave a good warning…**

 **IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW IS SUFFERING FROM ABUSE PLEASE GET HELP.**

 **Also, please read end of chapter for information on 'BbF?'**

…

Everyone stared in stunned silence at Thomas as he muttered 'Merry Christmas' in that broken tone. They've never seen Thomas act like this. It scared them, tremendously. So Edward stepped forward.

"Thomas..," he started but Thomas suddenly stood up, turned and rammed himself into Edward, wrapping his arms around him and held on tight, cutting Edward off with a hug.

"I'm… I'm sorry..," Thomas whispered. "I'm sorry you had to see that..,"

Edward was shocked by this sudden display of emotion, but nonetheless hugged the smaller boy back, and sat down, bringing Thomas into his lap.

He wrapped one arm around Thomas' waist, and put his other arm around Thomas' upper back, softly stroking his hand through Thomas' hair.

"Don't ever feel like you need to apologize for what happened, Thomas." Edward spoke softly. "Whatever happened back in England, you don't need to worry about here." He said. "But, if you need someone to talk to, we'll all be here." Edward reassured the teen.

Thomas looked up into the eyes of his big brother and saw only reassurance, and protection- so he smiled, only a bit. Because what he was about to reveal was going to hard and scary for him.

"Can… can we talk now, actually?" Thomas asked timidly. "I'd like for.., for you all to know the truth." He said.

Edward nodded. "Of course, Thomas. Would you like to go up to our room?" He asked.

Thomas shook his head. "No. I said I want you all to know the truth." He said. "Can, we all be here?" He asked.

Edward looked around, and everyone nodded. "Of course Thomas, you want us all to know, that's understandable."

"You want some hot chocolate, Thomas?" James asked.

Thomas nodded. "Yes please..," he said, now turned around in Edward's lap, with Edward's arms wrapped around his waist, and chin on his shoulder.

James nodded, and walked back to the kitchen, and a few minutes later, came back with a mug of hot chocolate and gave it to Thomas.

"Thank you." Thomas said, accepting the hot drink, and taking a small sip.

James nodded, and sat down next to his brother, Hiro as everyone else sat down next to their respective siblings- Rosie and Gordon sitting down on either side of Edward and Thomas.

"Now Thomas." Edward said, as he sat up straighter, pulling Thomas into his lap more. "Are you ready to tell us?" He asked gently.

Thomas closed his eyes, taking a breath, as he clenched the mug in his hands. "Yes…" He breathed.

Everyone nodded, and waited patiently.

Thomas sighed, opening his eyes. "Well… you all know I came from England, but not much else, right?" He asked everyone. They all nodded.

"That's right." Henry said.

"Well..," Thomas said again. "I did have a home.., and parents, and a last name before I came to Sodor…"

…

 _A seven year old Thomas sat in his room, crying with his ears covered as he listened to his parents argue from downstairs. His Father, Alan Fearnley had recently lost his job as a repair man for slacking off and a multitude of other things. Having alcohol on the job, yelling and cursing at coworkers, making certain 'advantages' towards female coworkers- it wasn't pleasant._

 _His Mother, Celia Fearnley was, to say the least- not happy._

" _How could you do this, when we have a_ _ **child**_ _?!" Celia yelled._

" _What I do at work, is none of your business!" Alan countered._

" _It is, when you get fired!"_

" _We wouldn't have to worry about this, if that_ _ **boy**_ _hadn't been born!" Alan snarled._

" _Don't you_ _ **dare**_ _, bring Thomas into this!" Celia yelled. "This is not his fault! He isn't the reason you lost your job! He didn't_ _ **ask**_ _to be born!"_

" _Don't you dare talk back to me woman!" Alan yelled. "You decided you to keep the kid!"_

" _Of course I did!" Celia said. "I wasn't about to abort him!"_

" _Well, if you did, this wouldn't be happening!" Alan growled._

" _That's it!" Celia yelled. "I'm done. I'm divorcing you, taking Thomas, and the money! You won't get anything!"_

" _Like hell you are!" Alan yelled._

 _Then there was tons of movement around, things crashing against walls and floors, screams, then suddenly-_

 _BANG! BANG! BANG!_

 _Then silence._

 _Thomas gasped and uncovered his ears. Even with them covered, he could still hear those loud noises. It sounded like- gunshots. He knew what they sounded like because his Father would often go to the shooting range, and stay there for hours. When he asked his Mother, she would explain that his dad would go 'let off steam'._

 _Thomas slid off his bed and tip toed down stairs. He clung onto the banner, and kept low to the ground as he moved._

 _When he reached the living room- he screamed._

 _There, on the ground, was his Mother. Two gunshot wounds were in her stomach, and one was in her chest._

" _M-mom…?" He questioned shakily as he walked towards her. His breathing went ragged as he realized that she was still alive. Unconscious, but alive. He stepped closer to his Mother, and knelt down to her._

 _He could hear her short and shallow breathing as she struggled to stay alive._

 _Despite his age, he knew what to do._

 _So, he moved closer to her, and moved his hand under hers, gently grasping it._

" _Mom.., mom it's me, Thomas." He whispered shakily. "It's ok mom. I know you're scared.., I know you're hurting. B-but.., I don't think I can help you…" he gasped, tears streaming down his face._

" _Mom.., you have to let go..," he finally said. "I'll be ok. I promise. I'll be ok. Just please… let go. I don't want to see you hurting anymore…"_

 _After a few moments, he felt his Mother's hand squeeze his._

 _He bit his lip, and gently squeezed back._

 _Then, the grip around his hand loosened, and he heard his Mother breathe out._

 _Thomas closed his eyes and started crying, and leaned his head down onto his Mother's chest._

…

Everyone sat in stunned silence as they stared at Thomas, who was clutching tightly onto the mug in his hands, with his eyes shut, tears streaming down his face.

"Oh Thomas…" Emily whispered quietly. "We had no idea…"

Thomas shook his head, wiping his eyes. "I never told you." He simply said.

Percy bit his lip. "Thomas, I hate to ask this, but is there more?"

Thomas was now leaning heavily against Edward, his mug now in Rosie's hands, as she, Edward, and Gordon stared at their baby brother in concern.

Edward looked up. "Percy, I don't think it's a good idea-"

"No." Thomas said, cutting his big brother off. "There is, and I will tell just, give me a minute."

Everyone nodded, and waited quietly.

…

 _Thomas stayed by his Mother sobbing for a while before he heard a door slam. His head shot up and he saw his Father walk in holding a bottle and a gun._

" _D-dad…"Thomas whimpered._

" _If you hadn't been born, this wouldn't have happened." Alan snarled, gesturing to Thomas' dead Mother on the floor with the gun._

" _I-I'm sorry- AH!" Thomas's plea was cut off as the bottle his Father was holding was shattered over his head. Thomas fell over in pain, as he held onto his head, now covered in shatters of glass._

 _His breath was knocked out of him as Alan kicked him in the stomach repeatedly, his cries of pain coming out in weak gasps._

" _S-stop…" the seven year old begged, which only made Alan more furious than before. He grabbed Thomas by the arm and threw him across the room, slamming him into the wall. Thomas groaned, and sat up, leaning his back against the wall, panting heavily._

 _Alan walked forward and pistol whipped him across the head once, before pointing the gun at him._

 _Despite the pain shooting through his body, Thomas' eyes widened as he stared up into the barrel of the gun._

" _This, wouldn't be happening if you weren't born." Alan growled again._

 _This time, Thomas glared at him. "That isn't, my fault." He panted out._

 _Alan glared, and moved the gun to the left before shooting._

 _Thomas cried out in pain as a bullet went through his left shoulder, the stinging, burning pain was unlike anything he ever felt. He grabbed his shoulder as blood steadily streamed down his shoulder and arm._

" _Next time," Alan said darkly, "Think before you speak..," then he went upstairs._

 _Thomas panted as he listened to see if his Father had gone to sleep._

' _How_ _ **dare**_ _he?!' He thought angrily. 'My mom.., what about my mom…?' At this he started to sob quietly._

 _He didn't want to leave, but at the same time, he knew he had to. So, slowly, he limped to the bathroom, and got out a bandage and wrapped up his shoulder. When he looked up into the mirror, he sighed._

 _There he was, cuts on his face, with bruises forming as well. He looked tired. His hair and clothes were a mess, with tears, dirt and blood._

 _He looked away, and with what little strength and energy he had, Thomas ran out of the house, not looking back._

 _He didn't know how long he ran for. Seconds? Minutes? Hours? He really had no idea. He finally felt his lungs burning as he reached a building. It was five stories high, and painted in a dark teal green color. It had big letters painted in yellow, but he couldn't see what they said._

 _Slowly, he walked up to the steps painting heavily from either loss of breath or blood. Probably both. Thomas didn't care at this moment- he just wanted to be safe. When he reached the top, he slowly knocked on the door, exhausted._

 _He didn't get to see who answered the door._

 _He didn't hear the person gasp in horror._

 _He didn't feel someone lift him into their arms._

 _He didn't hear the cries for help._

 _Slowly, he felt his eyes shut, and everything went dark._

 _When he awoke, he was greeted with the combination of pain, coldness, and a warm bed._

 _Slowly, he sat up. When he did, he felt a horrible pain in his left shoulder. He instinctively grabbed it, and moaned in pain._

" _Easy son..," said a soft, Italian, female voice. Then a hand went to his uninjured shoulder, and gently pushed him back onto the bed._

 _Thomas looked up, and saw a lady with black hair and blue eyes. She was dressed in a teal dress, with a name tag on her chest that he couldn't quite make out._

" _Who- who are you?" Thomas asked quietly. "Where am I?"_

 _The lady smiled softly. "My name, is Gina. And you're at London City Orphanage."_

 _Thomas looked down._

 _Orphanage…._

 _He looked back up, and nodded, showing he understood._

" _We found you on our doorstep. You were half conscious, with a bullet wound in your left shoulder." Gina explained. "You had many other injuries as well."_

 _Thomas nodded again. "I know..,"_

" _What's your name?" Gina asked._

" _Thomas." He replied._

" _Last name?"_

 _Thomas froze up. "No…" He said after a few moments._

" _No?" Gina asked confused._

" _I… I don't…"_

 _Gina nodded. "You don't want to say. That's alright"_

 _Thomas breathed a sigh of relief. He looked around. From the looks of it, he could tell that he was in a medical room. He looked down at himself. He was in new clothes._

 _He was in a teal shirt, and blue pajama pants. His shirt had yellow trims around the ends of the sleeves, and the letters "LBSC" on the left shoulder._

 _Quietly, he lifted the blanket off of himself, and his pant leg up. Like his arms and shoulder, they were covered in bandages._

 _He sighed and slowly sat up, with Gina's help of course._

" _Can.., can you tell me about yourself?" Thomas asked. He wanted to think of something else._

 _Gina sat at the end of the bed, nodded and smiled, knowing why he suddenly asked that question._

" _Well, I'm originally from Italy." She explained. "Back there, I competed in a lot of contests shunting trucks."_

" _With a train?" Thomas asked, his eyes lighting up._

 _Gina smiled more at seeing his excitement, and nodded._

" _I want to have my own train someday." Thomas smiled. "Do my own jobs."_

" _I hope you get that." Gina smiled. "Shall I continue?"_

 _Thomas nodded eagerly._

" _Anyway," Gina continued. "I was often the winner of them. I thought that was going to be my lifelong dream. To shunt trucks, and win competitions. That is, until I saw a child, homeless in the streets of my city." She said. "I knew then, I wanted to help children. So, I transferred here, and started working at the orphanage."_

" _That's where I met my now best friend, Ashima." Gina said. "She came from India, almost the exact same way I had. She was a champion at shunting trucks, and thought was what she wanted to do."_

" _Until I heard of all the homeless, and abused children here." Said a new voice._

 _Gina and Thomas turned around to see another female enter the room. She was wearing the same dress Gina had on, and had black hair, and violet eyes. She was carrying a tray of food._

" _Hello Gina." She smiled._

 _Gina smiled back. "Hello Ashima. Meet our new child, Thomas."_

 _Ashima nodded at Thomas. "Hello Thomas." She said cheerily._

" _Hi." Thomas replied._

 _Soon, all three of them formed a close bond. They became the best of friends._

 _Both Gina and Ashima did their best to try and help Thomas forget whatever it was he experienced. They wanted to forget, but they knew it would be hard._

…

Everyone stared at Thomas in shock.

"Oh my gosh Thomas…" Emily gasped. "You… we can't believe you went through all that..,"

Thomas only shook his head. "Just… maybe some other time..," He whispered. "I'm so tired..,"

Edward nodded. "I'll take you to bed. In fact, we should all, go to bed."

Everyone nodded at Edward's silent command, and started getting ready for bed.

Edward carried Thomas up the stairs, and into their room, as Rosie and Gordon silently followed. He quietly helped Thomas get changed into his pajamas, and tucked him in. Edward Rosie and Gordon all hugged and kissed him goodnight, then they all changed into their pajamas and went to bed.

While Thomas fell asleep relatively quickly, despite what he just relived, everyone else had a slight bigger problem falling to sleep that night, their minds all swimming with questions, and one certainty.

Thomas' story was far from over.

…

 **With 'Broken but Fixable?', I have unfortunately hit a road block with it. I have not forgotten about that story, I just have no ideas. Anyone have any? If so, please share! Much appreciated! Sorry for the long chapter, also.**


	5. Chapter 4

**Behind the Most Cherished Smile is the Saddest Frown Ch. 4**

 **A/N. I changed the rating, just in case.**

…

The next day at Tidmouth Sheds, everything was quiet. Everyone, except Thomas, was awake, and quietly doing their own thing. While most everyone was down in the living room, Edward, Rosie, and Gordon were still in their room, watching over Thomas.

Edward was reading a book, glancing up at the small boy every once and a while, Rosie was painting, and Gordon was silently looking out the window. The events from last night had really shaken everyone up. They had no idea Thomas' past was so gruesome.

Gordon sighed. "I had no idea…" He quietly said after a moment.

Edward shook his head, putting his book down. "None of us did."

Rosie put her brush down. "But we should have." She said, wiping her hands on her apron. "Or in the very least, a little of it. It's our job to protect him."

"But's it's his choice to tell us." Edward pointed out.

"True..," Gordon mumbled, getting up from his seat, and walking to Thomas' bed. He stared down at the sleeping boy in wonder.

Thomas was sleeping on his side, on his right arm. His right arm was next to his head, and his fingers were curled, as if he was holding something. The blanket went a little past his waist, covering the lower part of his left arm. His hair was splayed messily, and yet seemingly perfectly around his face and pillow. His eyes were closed, and his mouth was slightly parted. He looked so peaceful.

"He looks so… at peace right now." Gordon said, as if he were shocked. "It's so- so…"

"Misleading." Rosie finished. "It's so misleading."

Gordon nodded. "Exactly." He sighed.

Edward only shook his head. "It'll be ok guys, we'll figure this out. Everything will be ok."

Rosie and Gordon turned around to look at their older brother. After a few moments, they nodded their heads.

Then they heard the sound of movment behind them.

Thomas slowly sat up, his arms stretched above his head.

"Mmm!" Thomas groaned as he stretched, opening his eyes. He looked around and smiled as he saw his siblings. "Hey guys!"

For now, the three Hill siblings pushed aside their dark thoughts and smiled back.

"Good morning, Thomas." Edward greeted cheerily.

"Did you sleep well, Little Blue?" Rosie asked.

Thomas giggled. "Yes I did."

"Cute nickname, Ro" Gordon said, making Rosie dramatically bow.

"Why, thank you, good sir!" Rosie said in an overly exaggerated British accent.

Thomas laughed more, as he slid the blanket off him. As he was about to get up off his bed, Gordon walked over to him, and picked up the fifteen year old.

Thomas giggled. "Gordon, I'm fifteen, I can get out of bed myself!" He said.

"I know." Gordon said matter-of-factly. "It won't stop me however." He smirked.

Thomas rolled his eyes, but smiled and let his big brother carry him across the room to the closet.

"There we go." Gordon said as he set Thomas down.

Thomas smiled. "Thanks Gordon." He then opened the closet, and looked through it. After a few moments, He picked out dark blue jeans, a long sleeve blue shirt, and yellow socks. He went to the bathroom and quickly changed, throwing his pajamas in the hamper, and went back to his room.

He went to the desk opposite of where their beds were, and opened a drawer on the left. He rummaged through it for a few seconds, and then pulled out a pin.

It was the number '1' painted in yellow, and outlined in red. Smiling, Thomas pinned it on his left shoulder.

Edward chuckled. "You sure do like that pin, don't you, Little Blue?" He asked.

Thomas nodded. "I do!" He smiled. "It… it makes me feel.., like I belong. A true part of this family." He said.

Gordon smiled. "Oh Thomas. You don't need a pin to say you belong. But I understand why you value it."

Thomas looked at him. "I know I don't. But you guys also gave it to me. It's special" He smiled.

Rosie smiled. "You sure have a positive outlook on life, despite what you've been through, don't you, T?"

Thomas nodded. "I want to look to the future, not the past."

"That's a good thing to do, Thomas." Edward smiled.

"Thomas! Thomas! Hey Thomas!" A voice called out down the hallway. Then Emily appeared in the doorway of the Hill sibling's room. She was wearing jeans, a dark green coat, yellow mittens, a red hat, and black boots. "Percy, Toby, James, Stanley, and I about to go outside, and play! Wanna come?" The nineteen year old asked, her light amber eyes sparkling in excitement.

Thomas smiled and nodded. "Sure!"

"Well, that's good!"

Then James, Toby, Stanley, and Percy all popped into the room as well, each holding an article of Thomas' winter clothing.

James was holding Thomas' coat, Toby- Thomas' hat, Stanley- Thomas' gloves, and Percy- Thomas' boots.

"Because we already have you stuff!" James said proudly, his red hair falling in front of his dark green eyes.

Thomas laughed, taking the articles of clothing, and put them on. "Thanks guys!"

"All right kids, be safe!" Edward smiled at the group of younger teens.

"We will." Stanley smiled. "We're just going down to the lake- less than half a mile away."

"Just.., don't fall in..," mumbled a passing by Whiff who was carrying a stack of towels.

"We won't." Emily smiled at her older brother reassuringly. **(Again, thanks to my sister, Goldsaddletank, for helping me figure out what age Emily should be (19), and who her older sibling should be (Whiff). Thanks again! You're awesome sis!)**

Whiff smiled back. "Good, have fun!" Then he walked out of sight, into the bathroom, to put the towels away.

Her attention turned back to her friends. "Come on, guys!" Then she ran out of the room.

James, Toby, Percy, Stanley, and Thomas smiled, and followed their friend out the room, down the stairs, and outside into the sunny, yet cold weather.

…

Emily smiled as she ran. It was nice, feeling the cold wind hit her face, in a fast, yet calm breeze. "Hey guys, race you!" She smirked, then took off running.

James laughed. "W-wait, no fair!" He took off after her, prompting Percy, Stanley, Toby and Thomas to follow after.

Soon, all six teens were racing each other, eager to get to the lake first. But Thomas took them all by surprise as he passed them all, running faster than any of them had ever seen.

Thomas reached the lake first, and skidded through the snow, successfully stopping himself.

"Ha ha! I won!" He cheered.

Everyone else caught up with him after a short moment, panting.

"Thomas… we didn't know you could run _that_ fast!" Percy exclaimed in shock.

The fifteen year old laughed. "Well, for some weird reason, I run faster in cold weather than I do in warm weather." He explained.

"That's awesome!" Stanley smiled, making Thomas smiled and nod.

But suddenly. "Oof!" Stanley fell over face first into the snow as a snowball hit the back of his head.

He sat up sputtering wiping the snow off his face, then he started laughing. "Ok, who threw that?"

Toby then looked away with a sly smile on his lips.

Stanley's eyes widened and he gasped but smirked. "Oh, you'll pay for that Toby!" He said as he got up, balling a pile of snow in his hands in the process, forming it into a ball.

Toby laughed and ran away. "No!"

Soon, Stanley, Toby, Percy, James, and Emily were all engaged in a fun-filled snowball fight.

"Ha, ha! Hey Thomas, aren't you going to join in?" Percy asked, stopping to look at his best friend.

Thomas shook his head, and walked to a tree, and leaned against it. "No, you guys go play." He smiled.

Percy was unsure, but decided that if that was Thomas' choice, then that was that. "Well, alright Thomas. But if you change your mind, come join us!" He smiled, then promptly turned around, and threw a snowball at James.

"Hey!" Came James' cry of shock.

Thomas laughed at his friend's shock, and nodded. "I will Percy!"

Then his friends went back to playing.

Thomas shook his head, smiling, and looked down at the ground before him.

…

 _Thomas rather liked it at the London City Orphanage. No one was there to scream or hurt him, only there to help and love him. His wounds were slowly healing- even the wound in his shoulder was showing some progress in healing as well._

 _Thomas was allowed out of the infirmary after a while, and into the room were all the children slept and play. Ashima and Gina were still always with him, making sure he settled in._

 _They were the only real friends Thomas had at the orphanage, and Thomas very fine with that indeed. While he regularly played with the other children, he didn't really want to make friends._

 _That is, until he met two other women. Annie and Clarabel were their names. They were much older than him, at the ages of twenty-five and twenty-three, while Thomas was only seven and they were only there to ask for directions. They decided to go to Thomas, who led them to Ashima and Gina._

" _Oh, you seek directions?" Ashima asked._

 _Annie nodded. "Yes we do. My sister, Clarabel and I must get to Sodor."_

" _You see," Annie's sister, Clarabel explained. "Annie and I are going there to look for jobs."_

 _Gina nodded. "Ah, we see. Well, let Ashima and I fetch you a map and- ah, Thomas, what are you doing?"_

 _Thomas looked up from the purses he was looking at, and touching. "S-sorry, I was just looking…" He said sheepishly._

 _Ashima giggled. "Next time, dear- ask. Alright?"_

 _Thomas ran, and stood in front of Gina and Ashima. "Yes Ashima."_

 _Gina smiled. "Good. Now hang on ladies, we'll be right back with the map. And Thomas, time for bed." Then she and Ashima went back into their office._

 _Thomas nodded, and turned to Annie and Clarabel. "I hope you find Sodor soon, ladies." He smiled. "Goodnight." Then he, limped away._

" _Oh Annie, isn't he such a sweet little boy?" Clarabel asked her older sister as she watched the little boy go to the room he slept in._

" _Yes Clarabel, delightful. But I do wonder what happened to him..," Annie said._

" _As do I..," Clarabel mumbled._

" _But he'll go far, Clarabel." Annie smiled. "Just you wait and see."_

…

Thomas smiled at the memories of the two kind ladies. _I do hope I get to see them again._ He thought. _They were so kind…_

Suddenly he heard Percy yell out. "You can run, but you can't hide forever!"

He yelled that at Stanley, who was hiding behind a tree, and laughing.

Thomas shook his head again. _No.., no.., no.., please no…_

…

 _Thomas got into his bed silently, and pulled the blanket up to his shoulders. "Goodnight." He whispered to the other kids._

" _Goodnight." They all whispered back._

 _Then Thomas fell asleep._

 _But he was to have no pleasant dreams tonight._

 _/ Thomas panted as he ran through the forest. His eyes were watery from tears, his legs hurt, and his lungs burned for air, but he knew he could not stop running. His clothes were tattered and splattered in blood. He had no idea where he was running to, but he knew why he was running. Suddenly-_

" _ **YOU CAN RUN, BUT YOU CAN'T HIDE FOREVER!"**_

 _Came the voice of his Father, Alan Fearnley._

 _It scared Thomas even more, and he ran faster._

' _Leave me alone.., please!' Thomas thought desperately as he kept running._

Thomas' eyes were clenched shut as he felt tears running down his face. His arms were down at his sides, as he held them, trying to stop himself from shaking.

 _The seven year old kept running. He turned his head, and saw Alan not far behind him, holding a knife in one hand, and a gun in the other._

 _He gasped and took a sharp turn behind a pile of rocks. He sat down, and held his breath as he heard his Father just on the other side._

" _Where are you?" Alan's voice rose in song. "Where are you little Thomas? Come out. Come on out… we're just going to_ _ **play**_ _…"_

 _Thomas' eyes widened and he took a deep, slow, quiet breath, determined not to give himself away. After a few moments, there was silence. He couldn't hear anything. Thomas knew he was chancing his own life at this point, but he didn't care. Slowly he stood up, and ran again._

" _Aha! I found you!" Then a gunshot rang off into the night._

Thomas fell onto the ground as if he were actually shot, and screamed in pain. His eyes were still shut, and he was still holding onto his sides. This caught the attention of his friends, who were all by him in a second.

"Thomas!"

" _Yes! I got the little brat in the stomach! Ha, ha!" Alan laughed as he walked out from his hiding place behind a rock._

 _He stepped in front of Thomas, who was laying on the ground, and lifted his left foot, then rammed it down onto the boy's side._

" _AAAH!"_

"AAAH!" Thomas cried out in fear and pain. His eyes were still shut as he relived the painful memory/nightmare. "Make it stop! Make it stop!"

He was so deeply lost in his memory, he didn't realize he was laying in Emily's lap.

"Thomas! Thomas! Open your eyes! It's ok! You're ok!"

" _S-stop!" Thomas cried out in pain. "Leave me alone!"_

" _You should have thought about that before you ran away!" Alan retorted. He grabbed Thomas by the arm, and lifted him in the air. Then he smirked, and threw the boy across the forest floor._

 _Thomas gasped as he landed on the ground in a harsh thud. Unable to breathe, unable to move, Thomas laid there, gasping in pain._

"James, go back to Tidmouth!" Percy ordered, holding onto Thomas' shaking shoulders. "Go get the others! Go get help!"

James nodded frightfully, and scrambled to his feet, running back home.

 _Thomas tried his best to scramble away, and to get away from his Father, but he was far too weak._

 _Alan laughed quietly as he walked up to the little boy. He grabbed fistfuls of his hair, and brought Thomas up to his eye level. He ignored the whimpers of pain and attempts to get away as he leaned to Thomas' ear._

" _You may have ran away little boy… but mark my words Thomas Fearnley. No matter where you hide-_ _ **I will always find you.**_ _" /_

"Thomas.., Thomas! Open your eyes!" Came a new voice.

After a few moments, Thomas slowly opened his eyes. The face of a very concerned Edward swam into his vision.

His breathing was still ragged, as he looked around. He was surrounded by, well, everyone.

Edward, Rosie, Gordon, Percy, Henry, James, Hiro, Stanley, Spencer, Emily and Whiff. They were all around him, looking very scared indeed.

"Thomas…" Rosie started.

"What happened?" Gordon asked. "Did any of you hurt him?" Gordon asked semi-threateningly as he looked around.

"No! No, no one hurt me..," Thomas panted, as he tried to wipe his tears away and stop the shaking. "Just… it's something I don't want to talk about.., right now…" He said, as he leaned against James, who was behind him and supporting him.

 _Thomas screamed in fear as he thrashed around in his bed, trying to rid himself of the nightmare that plagued him, waking up all the other children in the process._

 _Then Ashima and Gina burst into the room, looks of panic on their faces._

" _What is going on in here?" Gina asked frantically._

 _One child pointed over to Thomas' bed. "He won't wake up Miss! No matter how many times we call his name!" She cried._

" _And there's red stuff appearing on his shirt!" Said a boy. "Is it blood? Is he hurt?" He asked._

 _Ashima shook her head, and ran to Thomas' bedside. "Thomas, Thomas! Oh little baby, open your eyes! It is only a nightmare!" She pleaded. "Gina! Get bandages! His wounds have reopened!"_

 _Gina nodded and ran out of the room, and retrieved bandages, when she returned, she was glad to see Thomas was awake. He was crying, shaking, and holding onto Ashima for what seemed to be dear life, but he was awake._

" _I have the bandages..," Gina said quietly._

 _Ashima nodded, and both set to work closing and bandaging Thomas wounds._

 _Gina smiled when they finished. "I'll help the other kids back to sleep."_

 _Ashima nodded, and turned her attention back to the child they just helped. "Now, Thomas, what happened?" She asked gently._

" _It-it was horrible, A-Ashima…," Thomas whimpered. "W-why do I have to be me? Can't I be someone else?"_

 _Ashima sighed. "Thomas..," She smiled. "You can only be you. There's nothing else you can possibly do."_

 _Thomas looked down. "But I don't wanna be me"_

 _Ashima smiled still. "But it's plain to me that you're trying too hard, so instead, just be who you are."_

" _But I've had so many problems..," Thomas whispered. "I don't wanna be me. Everything hurts…"_

" _Calm down, be quiet." Ashima whispered. "You know in your heart there isn't any other place to start."_

" _But Ashima..," Thomas whimpered._

 _Ashima smiled. "Shh…" she said, as she laid Thomas down on an extra bed, considering his own was covered in blood. "I know this has been hard for you. I can't imagine what you've gone through." She said as she tucked him in._

" _But you don't have to try, just be who you are, and trust your two small legs to take you far…" She quietly sang to him. And after a few moments, Thomas fell asleep._

Soon, Thomas' eyes closed as fell against James in exhaustion. Everyone else knew he was asleep, so Rosie quietly picked him up, and everyone walked home.


	6. Chapter 5

**Behind the Most Cherished Smile is the Saddest Frown Ch. 5**

 **Warnings: language.**

…

 _The world was dark and bleak. And Thomas was just floating in nothingness. He looked around, but all he could see was darkness._

" _Hello?" He called out. "Hello? Is anyone out there?! Hello?!"_

 _Thomas closed his eyes and breathed deeply. "Where is everyone? Where am I?"_

 _Suddenly, he heard laughter. He looked up, and gasped._

 _In front of him, was a memory?_

 _It was of him, his Mother, and his Father. They were all laughing, and at a park, Thomas knew what this was._

" _It was my 4_ _th_ _birthday!" Thomas realized._

 _They all looked happy. No screaming, no crying, no blood, no death, just… happiness._

" _Here, Little T!" His Father smiled. "Open this! It's for me." He said proudly._

 _Four year old Thomas smiled. "Ok papa!" He gently tore away the blue wrapping paper, and looked inside. It was a small wooden train model. "Papa I love it!" Thomas squealed as he hugged him._

 _Alan hugged him back. "Glad, kiddo."_

 _Then the memory faded away. Thomas breathed in deeply, and let out a sob. That was so long ago, it almost felt like a dream, and not a memory._

 _Forever, it felt like._

 _Forever, it felt like Thomas floated through endless memories, nightmares, dreams, and flashbacks._

 _By the time they all faded away, Thomas was tired, weak, and shaking._

" _W-where is everyone…?" Thomas whimpered. "I just wanna go home.., I just wanna be safe…"_

…

Thomas groaned as he sat up, running his hand through his hair. He still felt tired and drained, but he didn't care. As he sat up, he felt that he was on the couch, which felt nice and warm, as the last thing he remembered was laying in the snow.

"Thomas! You're awake!"

Suddenly, Thomas flew back onto the couch, as someone rammed into him, hugging him tightly.

"Ah! W-what?! Yes, yes, I'm awake!" Thomas sputtered as he tried to hug the person back.

When the person pulled back, Thomas smiled.

"Hey Toby." He smiled.

The eighteen year old smiled back at his friend. "Oh, I'm so relieved you're awake! We were all so worried!" He exclaimed.

"Wait… how long have I been asleep?" Thomas asked, slightly afraid of the answer.

"… Three days." Toby said.

"Three days?!" Thomas gasped. "Didn't you try to wake me?!"

"We did! Honest to God we did!" Toby said. "But… you wouldn't. No matter how much we tried, you wouldn't wake up." Toby said.

"We brought in the doctor, to see what was wrong." Toby explained. "But, he couldn't find anything. He said to just let you sleep."

"Oh…"

Toby nodded. "And none of us can begin to even describe how- _helpless_ we felt, when you were screaming and crying..," he said.

"I was..?" Thomas asked.

"Yes.., you were." Toby said. "You screamed and cried every day that you were sleeping.., and no matter what we did, you wouldn't stop. So we had to just let you.., and we tried to block it out." Toby mumbled.

Thomas bit his lip, and looked down at his lap. "Did... did I say anything?"

"Well.., yes." Toby said. "You said- you said… 'Leave me alone, Alan. You just- you just have to leave'"

Thomas gasped as he was thrust back into a memory.

 _Alan laughed quietly as he walked up to the little boy. He grabbed fistfuls of his hair, and brought Thomas up to his eye level. He ignored the whimpers of pain and attempts to get away as he leaned to Thomas' ear._

" _You may have ran away little boy… but mark my words Thomas Fearnley. No matter where you hide-_ _ **I will always find you.**_ _"_

Thomas threw the blanket off of him in a hurry, and sprang up from the bed. But he got up to fast, and wobbled.

"Thomas!"

Thankfully, Toby caught him. "Thomas, what's wrong?" He asked.

Thomas shook his head, getting rid of the dizziness in his eyes.

"Edward?" He asked. "Where's Edward? Rosie? Gordon? Toby, where are they?!"

"T-they're at work!" Toby sputtered. "What's wrong?!"

Thomas shook his head again. "No time to explain! I have to get to them!"

Then he wiggled out of Toby's grasp, and ran to the door, flung it open, and ran outside into the snow.

"Thomas! Thomas! Are you nuts?!" Toby called out, running to the door. "You're completely barefoot!"

But Thomas didn't listen. He kept running, determined to get to his siblings.

Toby groaned in both frustration and concern and ran back inside. He threw on his coat, and ran upstairs. As quick as he could, he grabbed a pair of socks for Thomas, his coat, his hat, his gloves, and boots.

Then he ran back downstairs, and out the door, shutting it, and started running in Thomas' direction.

…

Thomas ran as fast as his freezing legs would let him. He could vaguely feel the freezing ground beneath his bare feet as it harshly nipped against the exposed skin, making it bleed, and leaving bloody footprints.

But that was the last thing on his mind. He had to get to his siblings- in the very least, get to Edward.

 _Thump thump.., thump thump.., thump thump.., thump thump…_

Thomas harshly breathed in the cold air as he felt his heart rapidly beating against his chest. He felt the cold wind whip across his face as if it were slapping him. Each time he stumbled, he felt snow go up his pant legs, and down his shirt, and felt his feet bleed more. Every time he went under a building's shade cover, snow and ice fell on him. And yet, none of these of these things deterred the young boy.

"Thomas! Thomas! Come back here!" He heard his friend Toby cry out in alarm. But he kept running.

Finally, he saw the yard come into view, where he knew Edward would be working that day, even if he was taking a train out of the yard, he knew Edward would be there.

So, using the last of his energy, Thomas ran forward.

"Edward! Edward! Where are you?!" Thomas wheezed, finally stopping, and looking around. "It's an emergency!"

Then the door to the station master's door opened, and out ran a very concerned Edward, still zipping up his coat. He looked around, trying to find the source of the yelling until his eyes fell on a very wide awake and underdressed Thomas.

While he was happy his baby brother was finally awake, Edward was more concerned about the way Thomas was dressed and how the snow was slowly turning red under his feet.

"Thomas!" He called out in fear and alarm as he jumped off the station platform and ran to the fifteen year old.

Thomas coughed harshly as he tried to catch his breath. But he stopped and stared at his big brother in happiness and relief. Despite the pain he was finally feeling, Thomas slowly stumbled forward.

"Edward!" He gasped.

"Thomas!" Edward yelled once more as he ran to him, and grabbed him. He put one arm around Thomas' back, and the other under his knees, and lifted him up bridal style. In doing so, all the blood that built up underneath his feet, finally started to steadily drip from them, landing on the ground beneath them in a trail as Edward started walking.

He walked back to the station platform, and set Thomas down, sitting him up right.

"Thomas! What in the world are you doing?!" He demanded. "Where's your hat? You coat? Your gloves? Your boots?! Did you actually run all the way here barefoot and in pajamas?!" He gasped, tears slowly forming in his eyes.

Thomas nodded. "I know, I know, and I'm sorry but-!"

"Thomas!"

Both Thomas and Edward turned to look at who called his name.

There was Toby, panting, out of breath, and still running to them, holding all of Thomas' winter gear.

Edward sighed in gratitude, and gently took them from Toby.

"Thank you so much." Edward said. But before Toby could reply, he spoke again. "Now please, go into the station mater's office, and grab bandages. Thomas' feet are bleeding."

Toby nodded. "I know." Then he went and did as he was told.

Edward turned around, and walked back to Thomas, not failing to notice that his feet were still bleeding. He sighed, and slowly helped the fifteen year old into the necessary clothing items.

First he put on Thomas' hat, rubbing his ears through the cloth, then Edward put on his gloves, and rubbed Thomas' hands through the material like he did with his ears. Finally, Edward helped Thomas into his coat, and now, Thomas was shivering substantially.

Edward had to wait to put on Thomas' socks and boots until Toby got the bandages, so until then, Edward moved in front of Thomas, trying his best to keep him warm.

"Now Thomas," Edward said. "We just have wait a little while until we have the bandages. So until then, do you want to tell me what got you into this frenzy?" He asked gently.

After a few moments, Thomas leaned against his older brother, hiding his face in Edward's shoulder, and started shaking. Edward could tell the difference between shaking when you're cold and shaking when you're crying, and he knew Thomas' shaking was the latter.

"Thomas..," Edward said gently, running his hand through Thomas' hair. "What's wrong?"

Then Thomas looked back up with an extremely serious look, but had tears running down his face. "Edward..," He said quietly. "What I'm about to say next… you _have_ to believe me." He said.

"Thomas, you know you can trust me with anything." Edward reassured.

Thomas looked down for a moment, then back up at Edward. He opened his mouth to speak, but someone beat him to it.

"Here Edward, here are the bandages." Toby said, walking to the two, holding the bandages.

Edward turned to him, and quickly grabbed them. "Thank you Toby, now, I hope if you don't mind..,"

"Not at all." Toby quickly said. "I'll meet you back home." Then he left.

Edward then turned back to Thomas, and smiled. "Just.., let me bandage your feet, and get on your socks and boots, then you can tell me, alright?"

Thomas nodded. Edward smiled gratefully, and quickly, but carefully bandaged Thomas' feet. Then he slipped on his socks and boots, Thomas sighing at the warm feeling that surrounded his cold feet.

"Now, Thomas." Edward said, as serious as Thomas was just moments before. "You were saying?"

Thomas took a deep breath.

"Edward… my Father is going to come to Sodor." He said, all serious clear in his voice.

"What?!" Edward shrieked.

Thomas nodded. "I'm serious Edward! I remember this nightmare I used to frequently have back at the London City Orphanage. My Father, he would beat me, then shoot me in the stomach. Afterwards, he would grab me by my hair, lift me up to his level and whisper in my ear, 'You may have ran away little boy… but mark my words Thomas Fearnley. No matter where you hide- I will always find you.'"

Thomas sighed. "Edward, it may have been a nightmare, but my Father _will_ find me. And he won't stop until he's got me. It's been eight years since I ran away from home. He may have never been caught for my Mother's murder, but I _know_ he's still alive, and I know he's getting closer to me."

Edward growled, and for a moment, Thomas feared Edward didn't believe him, that is, until Edward spoke.

"There will be. A cold day in HELL! Before I let your Father- no- that monster! Take you away from me!" Edward growled. "If and when he comes here, if I have a say about it, Alan won't leave this island alive." He said.

Thomas saw the shift in Edward's demeanor, and smiled. "I knew I could count on you Edward." He whispered.

Edward smirked, and lifted Thomas up bridal style, since Thomas wouldn't be able to walk for a while.

"It's not just me you can count on baby brother." He said. "You have Rosie, Gordon, and your friends. You can count of all of us." He said as he started walking back to their home.

However, they didn't know they were being watched.

…

Diesel 10 back away from the wall he was behind while listening to the two Hill brother's conversation.

"Thomas… has been through all that?!" He yelled to himself in disbelief. "All of that pain? That torture?!"

He looked up as he watched the two Hill brothers walk away.

Despite never really liking Thomas, Diesel 10 felt some type of new feeling arise in his chest.

Protectiveness.

He felt the need to protect Thomas from that… horrible monster of a man.

Mumbling to himself as he walked back to the Diesel Works to inform his friends of what he just heard, Diesel 10 made up his mind.

"Oh little Thomas." Diesel 10 said. "It's not just your friends that you have to count on…"

…

" _You can count on me…"_


	7. Chapter 6

**Behind the Most Cherished Smile is the Saddest Frown Ch. 6**

…

"Woah woah woah woah- hold up." Diesel said. "You want- to _help_ the Steamies? THOMAS no less?" He asked, not believing what he was hearing. "Why in the world would we do that?!"

"Besides," 'Arry chimed in, looking curiously at Diesel 10. "I thought you didn't like the little brat!"

"Yeah!" Bert yelled. "And those Steamies never helped us, why should we help them?!"

Splatter and Dodge agreed. "It make no sense!" They yelled in sync.

"But guys..," Paxton started, but was cut off by everyone yelling.

Diesel 10 groaned. "No guys, let me-" but he was cut off by more yelling.

"Why not let Thomas deal with this on his own?!"

"He has everyone else to count on!"

"There's no need for us to intervene!"

Finally, Diesel 10 had had enough.

While the yelling was still going on, he growled, and walked over to a crane that was holding up a pile of steel ingots and walked behind the control panel. He looked over it for only a moment, before quickly slamming his fist down on the big red button.

When that happened, the crane released the load of steel which landed on the concrete ground with a loud 'THUD!' that echoed through the Diesel Works and instantly silenced all the yelling.

"SHUT. UP!" Diesel 10 screamed out in anger as he walked back in front of everyone else. "And listen!"

"I know, I know." Diesel 10 mumbled after a few moments. "That I really don't like Thomas. You're all right about that." He said. "But do any of you even know _why_ I want us to help him?" He asked, staring down at all the other Diesels.

"No…" they mumbled after a short while.

"That's what I thought." D10 said. "Now, listen. Thomas' background, is _not_ a very happy one." He said. "I myself was even questioning why I all the sudden wanted to help Thomas." He said. "And I talked with Edward earlier today, and he told me all about Thomas. With reluctance of course."

"He told me of Thomas' past, and how it was once happy, until his Father killed Thomas' Mother by shooting her three times, twice in the stomach, and once in the chest, when he was seven" Diesel 10 said.

Everyone's eyes widened, as Diesel 10 continued explaining.

"When Thomas went to investigate, he saw his Mother." Diesel 10 sighed. "With the gunshot wounds. She was laying on the ground, bleeding, and still alive."

"The kid watched his mom die right in front of him for Pete's sake!" He exclaimed.

"To top it off, his dad came back, beat him, and then shot him in the shoulder!" Diesel 10 yelled. "Thomas' story doesn't even end there. He ran away, to an orphanage, where he was… well, sort of safe."

"What do you mean, 'sort of' safe, D10?" Sidney asked.

Well," he mumbled. "Safe, physically. No physical abuse in the least, and his Father never found him. But… he wasn't safe emotionally. At the orphanage, he kept having nightmares and horrible flashbacks. They'd keep them him up, and when he was asleep, he was moving around so frantically his wounds would re-open."

"Guys, you're right." Diesel 10 said. "I don't like Thomas, or the Steamies in general, but this isn't ok. I may have tried myself to bring down the Steamies, and turn them against each other at times, but… this just isn't ok. We have to help them."

"But you're all wrong about one thing." Diesel 10 said. "The Steamies _have_ helped us. In more ways than we could ever think of. Even when we down right refused their help. Despite everything we've put them through, they still helped. Now it's our turn to help them."

"Ok…" Bert said. "While I do agree with you now..,"

"What do you want us to do?" 'Arry asked. "It's not like they'll just let us help with something so personal so suddenly."

"That's why Diesel 10 got help." Said a new voice.

All the other Diesels turned around just in time to see Mavis, Salty, Daisy, BoCo, and Philip walk into view.

"I asked them for help, yes." Diesel 10 said.

"How, can you help us?" Paxton asked staring at the group of Diesels.

Mavis smiled. "Well, we're closer to the Steamies."

"And I'm Edward's best friend." BoCo said, putting his hand to his chest.

"We can help ye by talkin' to them." Salty said. "Make 'em realize that fer once ye all actually want to help 'em."

"Besides," Daisy spoke. "They could all the help they could get."

"I've never seen Thomas so scared in my life." Philip said. "I'm glad you all want to help, because we need it."

Diesel 10 nodded. "I told Edward that I listened in on his last conversation with Thomas, and how I know that he fears Alan is coming."

"And you want to stop that?" Dart asked.

"Yes." Diesel 10 said. "I'm not letting this monster invade our home."

After a few moments, everyone nodded.

"Ok. Ok. We'll help." Diesel said.

Diesel 10 nodded. "Good. Now, Diesel, BoCo, and Mavis. Come with me. Everyone else, wait here."

Everyone nodded once more. Satisfied with the rest of the Diesel's answer, Diesel 10 left to Tidmouth Sheds, with Diesel, BoCo, and Mavis following behind.

…

Gordon paced back and forth in his room. "Thomas, are you _sure_ Alan is coming?"

Thomas nodded. "Gordon, like I told Edward, it may have been a nightmare, but I know Alan is alive, and I know he's coming."

Rosie sighed. "Then what are we going to do?"

"Well I have an idea." Edward said as he walked into their room.

The three younger Hill siblings looked at their older brother with curiosity.

He moved aside and in walked Diesel 10, Diesel, BoCo, and Mavis.

Gordon raised an eyebrow as Rosie slowly got up.

"What are you doing here, Diesel 10?" The twenty-six year old asked.

He sighed. "I know, I know." Diesel 10 said. "It's strange that I'm here."

"But hear him out." BoCo said. "He wants to help."

So Rosie moved away from her protective stance in front of her brothers and walked to Edward.

Diesel 10 nodded, and walked over to Thomas who was sitting on his bed.

Thomas watched the older man walk over to him, before sitting up more.

Diesel 10 sighed and got down on his knees in front of the boy. "Hey, Thomas."

Thomas nodded. "Hi..,"

"You scared?" Diesel 10 asked. "Of your Father coming here to Sodor?"

Thomas nodded again. "Yes, I am. I know what he's capable of. I know what he can do."

"Well guess what?" Diesel 10 asked rhetorically. "My friends and I are also going to be here to help you. And I agree with Edward. It will be a cold day in Hell before that monster takes you away from here and us." He said.

Thomas' eyes widened in shock, which made Diesel 10 chuckle.

"We're going to help, alright?" Diesel 10 asked.

Thomas nodded. "Ok, ok." He smiled.

…

Everyone was walking on eggshells every day for who knows how long after that.

They all knew Alan was coming to Sodor.

They all knew what he looked like and what he could do from what Thomas told them. They knew he was a dangerous man. And they were all scared.

Thomas tried to lighten the mood by saying everything would be ok. They all wanted to believe it, but at the same time, they couldn't.

One day, the Hill siblings and Diesel 10 were all at the docks, helping with a large shipment of coal that came in from the Mainland when another ship sailed into the docks.

At first they paid the ship no mind. That is, until-

"Excuse me, have you seen my son?" Came a deep, slightly gruff voice from the area of the ship.

Thomas gasped and quickly ran to Edward. "Edward… that's him..," He whimpered, tugging on his big brother's shirt.

Edward looked up from the box of coal he was helping to unload, and looked over to where the voice came from. In front of a box of cargo was a rather bulky man with brown hair and blue eyes, holding a picture of a small boy with blue hair and blue eyes.

"Well," Said a worker as he studied the picture. "What's your name?" He asked.

"Alan Fearnley." The man said. "And I'm looking for my son, Thomas."

"Oh my." The worker said, still looking at the photo. "Where'd all those bruises come from?"

Alan chuckled. "He had a nasty tumble on the playground that day."

"Edward, what do I do?" Thomas asked, fear in his voice.

The twenty-nine year old had to think quickly. "Just… keep working." Edward said.

"What?" Thomas asked, genuinely confused.

"Keep working." Edward repeated. "Like you're just another worker. Maybe, just maybe you can blend in, and he won't notice you. You're not the only one with blue hair. There's Gordon and I as well."

Thomas took a deep breath. "Ok. Alright. Can I work by you?"

Edward nodded. "Of course. But wait a minute. Let me go get Rosie, Gordon, and D10." He said.

Thomas whimpered. "Please hurry back." The fifteen year old whispered.

Edward nodded once more and kissed Thomas' head. "I'll be as quick as I can." He said, then he sprinted away.

Thomas took a shaky breath before continuing to work in Edward's place, unloading buckets of coal from a crate.

"Excuse me young man." Alan's voice said behind Thomas.

Thomas took another deep breath, and turned around. "Yes, sir?" He asked, keeping the shaking in his voice down.

Alan smirked, but it quickly disappeared as he showed Thomas the picture. "Have you seen my son?" He asked. "He disappeared about eight years ago, and I quite miss him."

Thomas quietly studied the picture, thankful he looked quite different from the boy in the photo. After a few moments, he looked back at Alan. "No sir, I haven't seen him." He said. He looked out of the corner of his eye and saw his siblings and Diesel 10 running to him, but they quickly stopped seeing who he was talking to.

Thomas put his right arm behind his back and held up a single finger, signaling them to stand by. Then, reluctantly, he could see Edward briefly nod before he looked back at Alan.

Alan hummed. "I see.., what's your name?"

Thomas took a deep breath. "Thomas. Thomas Hill. I live here on this island with my three older siblings."

Alan raised an eyebrow. "Is that.., so?" He asked slowly. "Well, thank you. For your time…"

Thomas nodded, and turned away. But then.

"Oh Thomas." Alan laughed. "Do you think I'm stupid?! I know it's you!"

Thomas turned back to Alan but before he could react, Alan grabbed him by the neck, and lifted him up off the ground.

Everyone at the docks were frozen in silent horror as they watched this scene unfold in front of them.

Thomas however, started kicking and choking as he tried to escape his Father's iron grip on his throat.

Edward gasped as he watched his helpless little brother get lifted into the air. He growled as he, Gordon, Rosie and Diesel 10 started to run forward.

"Hey!" He yelled out. "Let my little brother go!"

"Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah!" Alan smirked as he pulled out a gun from a holster behind his shirt. Then he turned Thomas' body around, while still holding onto his neck, and thrusted Thomas' body against his own. Then he put the gun against the fifteen year old's head.

Edward, Rosie, Gordon, and Diesel 10 immediately stopped running as they saw the gun.

Alan chuckled. "Good." He said. "Now, listen." He growled. "If you take another step closer, well, I'll blow Thomas' head away." He laughed.

"Don't you dare!" Rosie yelled.

Alan only smirked, and mockingly cocked the gun.

Thomas let out a strangled whimper of fear, feeling the gun click against his head. "E-Ed-ward…" He sputtered out, feeling extremely lightheaded.

Edward started breathing deeply, feeling tears running down his face as he tried to think of an idea. Unfortunately, he had none.

"Let him go!" Diesel 10 yelled in anger.

Alan laughed. "What are you going to do about it, huh?!" He yelled. "Thomas is legally still mine!"

Gordon growled. "You can't do this!" He screamed.

Alan slowly tightened his grip on the gun. "What are you going to do about it?!" He yelled again.

The three Hill siblings and Diesel 10 didn't know what to do. They felt completely helpless.

And just when Thomas' eyes were about to close-

"YOU LET GO OF THOMAS RIGHT NOW!"

Then someone jumped on Alan's back.

Unfortunately, when that happened, Alan stumbled, and his grip on Thomas and the trigger of the gun tightened.

Then the gun went off.


	8. Chapter 7

**Behind the Most Cherished Smile is the Saddest Frown Ch. 7**

 **Warnings: language and fighting. Seriously.**

…

Edward gasped in horror as he watched his baby brother fall onto the snowy ground out of Alan's death grip with a gunshot wound in his chest.

"Arg!" Alan cried out as he dropped Thomas' body, but kept a firm hold on the gun. "Get off of me you little twerps!" He cried out as he stumbled forward, almost falling over due to the ice below him.

Edward looked up and his eyes widened. On Alan's back, were Thomas' friends, James, Percy, Toby, Emily, and Stanley. And he could distantly see Henry, Hiro, Spencer, Whiff and Flora running towards them as well.

"Get away from Thomas!" James yelled, as he pulled Alan's hair, making the man cry out in pain.

Edward shook his head, his breathing rapid as he ran the fallen body of his baby brother. He was so relieved to see that Thomas was still breathing and awake as he got down onto the ground and gently lifted Thomas up into his arms, off of the bloody snow.

The twenty-nine year old held Thomas on his lap and with one arm as he frantically pushed Thomas' hair out of his eyes. "Thomas! Thomas! Oh gosh, I'm so sorry." He whispered as he shook his coat off and draped it over Thomas' chest and pressed, in an attempt to stop the bleeding.

Thomas' eyes were half closed and blood was slowly streaming down his chin from his mouth. Despite that, he smiled. "E-Edward..,"

Emily cried out in anger as she kicked Alan as hard as she could in the back of legs, making him fall over. Toby and Percy ran to each side of him, and started pulling on Alan's arms, trying to restrain him.

Then Stanley ran over to the hand that was holding the gun, and tried to wrestle it from Alan's grip.

This made Alan furious. "Oh no..," He grunted. "I am not. Being taken down. By a bunch. Of scrawny teenagers!" He yelled, as he finally managed to throw all the friends off of him.

James, Toby, Percy, Emily, and Stanley all cried out in shock as they were all thrown off the older man and to the ground.

"Hey!" Flora screamed in anger as they all neared Alan. "How _dare_ you throw my little brother!?" She screamed.

Alan only laughed and picked up the gun. He cocked it once more before shooting repeatedly at the teens.

Most of the shots missed, however, some did not.

James screamed in pain as two bullets pierced his skin. One went into his leg, the other went into his side.

Emily cried out as a single bullet was shot into her stomach.

Stanley yelped in agony as a bullet whisked past his head, nipping the skin on his cheek, and another bullet was lodged into his waist.

Toby screamed as a bullet went through his stomach and his upper arm.

Percy wailed in pain as a bullet was shot into his shoulder, and another into his thigh.

"NO!" Flora, Henry, Hiro, Spencer and Whiff screamed out in fear and anger as they ran faster. Finally, they reached their siblings, and wrapped their arms around them protectively.

Alan laughed more, but it was cut short as he was hit in the back of the head with a metal pipe, causing him to drop the gun.

"You bastard!" Diesel 10 yelled out, dropping the pipe and the punching Alan in the back of his head.

Alan screamed, but he cut himself off as he took everyone by surprise.

He whipped around and punched Diesel 10 hard in the face, making him stumble back. Then Alan ran forward, and grabbed Diesel 10's head and rammed it into his knee. He then threw Diesel 10 to the ground, and kicked him in the stomach repeatedly before backing away.

Diesel 10 groaned, and slowly got up, wiping his mouth to get rid of some blood, as he glared at the man in front of him.

"You monster!" Diesel 10 yelled.

"A monster I am, you say?" Alan asked. Then he pulled out another gun from his back pocket and smirked. He cocked it, and then pointed it at Diesel 10. "Why don't we test that out?"

Now Diesel 10 didn't have a gun, so he was, in a way, outnumbered. But he didn't care.

"Edward!" Diesel 10 called out hoarsely. "Get Thomas to the hospital! Flora, Henry, Hiro, Spencer and Whiff! You must do the same!"

Edward nodded, and picked Thomas up, but Thomas tried to push himself away. "No!" He gasped. "Diesel 10, I'm not leaving you!" He said weakly.

Diesel 10 sighed. "Thomas, you're dying!"

"But…" Thomas whimpered. "You'll die..,"

Alan growled. "Enough of this sappy crap!" Then he aimed the gun at Diesel 10, and fired.

The shot went straight into Diesel 10's stomach, and despite the pain he was in, Diesel 10 kept standing. He just cried out a bit, and grabbed his stomach.

"Diesel 10!"

The man looked up at who called his name, still holding onto his stomach.

It was Daisy. She then tossed him a shotgun.

Diesel 10 caught it, and slid the forend back, making sure it was loaded, then aimed it at Alan.

Alan lost all color in his face as he stared down the barrel of the shotgun.

"N-now." He sputtered. "Let-let's not be so hasty about this."

Diesel 10 kept it aimed at the man.

"Why not?!" He yelled out angrily. "Why, let's count the reasons on why I _should_ fire at you! You killed Thomas' Mother, then beat him! You then come here after eight years, hurt Thomas more, then shoot him in the chest!"

"Hey! I wouldn't have shot him if his friends didn't jump at me!" Alan yelled, still not moving.

"They were trying to protect Thomas!" Diesel 10 yelled. "And despite that, after you shoot Thomas, you deliberately throw them off you, shoot them all repeatedly, hitting them all! You then punch me in the face, beat _me_ , and then shoot me in the stomach! Now tell me why I shouldn't shoot _you_!"

Diesel 10 didn't let him respond. Instead, he growled, and aimed the shotgun at Alan's stomach and fired.

Alan stumbled back, holding his wounded and bleeding stomach, and gasped for air. Rosie and Gordon then raced forward, and grabbed onto Alan's arms, and forced him to the ground. Then Philip and Diesel ran to them, and grabbed the gun out of Alan's hand.

Everyone stood there, panting and out of breath, as they tried to comprehend what just happened in front of them.

Flora, Henry, Hiro, Spencer and Whiff then took off their jackets and ripped them up into faux bandages, and started to cover their sibling's wounds.

"W-what are you guys doing?!" James cried out in shock.

"It's freezing out here!" Emily said.

"You just ripped your jackets up!" Stanley gasped.

"Are you all nuts?! Toby asked.

Hiro shook his head. "We do not care." He said, as he and the others started to wrap their sibling's wounds.

"Just as long as you're all safe." Henry said.

Suddenly a blue car raced into the docks. It was Sir Topham Hatt and he was very confused and worried. He got out of his vehicle and ran over to all the chaos. "What's going on here?!"

But before he could get an explanation, Edward ran past him, holding a very bloody Thomas in his arms.

"No, no, Thomas!" He screamed as he ran towards the hospital. "Don't you dare close your eyes! Stay awake! Stay with me!" He sobbed. "Stay with me!"

But Thomas wasn't listening as his eyes slowly closed, and he breathed out.

"THOMAS!"


	9. Chapter 8

**Behind the Most Cherished Smile is the Saddest Frown Ch. 8**

…

Edward paced back and forth in the Sodor Hospital waiting room, very anxious. It had been almost a week since their encounter with Thomas' Father, Alan Fearnley.

Almost a week since Thomas was shot.

Almost a week since all his friends were wounded.

Almost a week since Alan was put behind bars for his crimes.

Almost a week since Thomas' eyes were open.

Thankfully, however, Edward had gotten Thomas to the hospital in time before he lost too much blood. The doctors said that the bullet, by some miracle, missed his heart and all major arteries, and that he would live.

Edward spent the rest of the day sobbing in relief, and when he told his siblings what happened, they all did the same.

Percy, Toby, James, Emily and Stanley were all already recovering, since their wounds were not as serious as Thomas'.

But the fifteen year old was still in his hospital room, and sleeping. But that didn't bother anyone- they were just glad he was alive.

Edward, Rosie, Gordon, and al of Thomas' friends would come to visit him every day, not caring that he was still sleeping. They would talk to him gently, and bring him small gifts in hopes that he would wake up.

His friends were also slowly healing, as stated before, with help, of course.

Emily had to use a cane for a while, per doctor's orders since she was shot in the stomach, and could not walk without needing something to support herself.

James had to be in a wheelchair for at least two weeks, since he could not walk due to the wounds in his leg and side.

Stanley had to use a cane as well, since he was hit in the waist. The wound on his cheek was not nearly as severe, and only required little stitching.

Even though he was shot in the stomach as well, Toby didn't need a cane or a wheelchair, due to the bullet not going as deep in his stomach. His arm however, needed to be in a sling to avoid as much movement as possible.

Percy had to have his shoulder heavily bandaged, and had to be in a wheelchair as well. But only for a week.

One cold afternoon, while Percy, Toby, James, Emily and Stanley were in Thomas' room, quietly visiting with him, their siblings were all out in the waiting room, fuming with rage.

"This is an outrage!" Spencer growled, as he looked through Thomas' window, at his little brother Stanley. "Because of Thomas' horrible Father, all of them are hurt now." He finished with a mumble.

Whiff sighed. "We know..,"

"What are we going to do?" Flora asked, staring at Edward.

The twenty-nine year old shook his head. "I don't know…" He said. "I have no idea..,"

Then the door to Thomas' room opened.

"Thomas is awake!" Emily smiled as she stumbled out of the room, and to her sibling.

Whiff caught her just before she fell. "Where's your cane?!" Mild panic in his voice.

Emily smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, I just got excited."

Whiff sighed, and smiled as he helped his little sister back into the room, with everyone following.

Edward, Rosie and Gordon gently pushed past everyone and to the bed of their little brother. Their hearts swelled in happiness when they saw Thomas, laying in the bed, bandages around his chest, arms, and head.

Thomas looked at them, and smiled. "Hey guys..," He whispered, slowly raising an arm to wave at his siblings.

The three older Hill siblings smiled with tears pricking their eyes, and waved at their little brother, too scared to do anything else.

Thomas laughed softly. "You guys aren't going to hug me?"

"But, your- your chest-" Rosie started fearfully.

Thomas shook his head. "Just avoid my chest." He said. "Put your arms around me, and your head on my shoulder. I want a hug."

They smiled more and nodded.

Edward stepped up first, and gently wrapped his arms around Thomas' upper back, and laid his head on Thomas' shoulder. Thomas hugged back, smiling.

"Welcome back, Thomas." Edward said as he pulled away.

Thomas smiled. "Thank you."

Rosie breathed in and exhaled deeply as she stepped forward. Slowly, like her older brother did before her, she gently wrapped her arms around Thomas, and laid her head on his shoulder.

"I'm so glad you're ok, Little Blue." Rosie mumbled as she pulled away.

Thomas smiled more. "Me too, Ro."

Then Gordon slowly came up to Thomas, and stared at him for a moment, just trying to comprehend all the wounds he had.

Thomas only smiled. "Hey, are you just going to stand there, and gawk at me? Or give me a hug?"

Gordon shook his head before smiling a bit. He leaned down and wrapped his arms carefully around his baby brother, and laid his head on Thomas' shoulder. Then he pulled away.

"We'll get through this, ok?" He said.

Thomas nodded. "I know we will."

"Thomas!" Came Percy's relief filled voice. "Oh, you're finally awake!"

Edward, Rosie, and Gordon then moved out of the way so Thomas could see his friends. However, when Thomas did see his friends, his jaw dropped.

He knew they all had to recover, since they were all hurt as well, but he didn't realize it was this serious. When he first woke up, his vision was blurry, so he couldn't properly see his friends. But now that his vision was clear, and he could see, he saw just how much they had been effected.

"J-James..," Thomas stuttered. "Percy. You're- you're both in- wheelchairs. Can you not… walk?"

"Only for a little bit." James reassured his friend. "We were both shot in the leg. The bullets went pretty deep, and we can't walk without tremendous pain."

"But the doctors say that on the days we don't feel as much pain, we should try walking." Percy said.

Thomas nodded, relieved that his two friends weren't permanently crippled because of his Father's actions- wait….

"My Father!" Thomas suddenly cried out, sitting up. "Where is he- OW!" Thomas groaned as the sudden movement sparked pain throughout his chest.

Edward quickly ran forward, and pushed Thomas back onto the bed.

"He's in jail, Thomas." The twenty-nine year old said. "He can't hurt you, or anyone else."

Thomas panted from the pain he was in, but nodded. "That- that's good…" He mumbled.

Stanley came forward. "Hey Thomas?" He asked. "You need anything? For the pain?"

The fifteen year old shook his head. "No, I'll be fine- ah.., Stanley, is that- a cane?"

The nineteen year old nodded. "Yes. Both Emily and I need one for now, to support ourselves since we were both hit in the stomach."

"What about you, Toby?" Thomas asked, staring at his friend.

Toby smiled. "My arm has to be in a sling, and I have to try and not move it. I was also shot in the stomach, but the bullet didn't go as deep, so I can walk on my own."

Thomas smiled back. "I'm glad you all are alright." He said. Then his smiled vanished and was replaced with a frown. "But I'm still sorry…," He mumbled.

James shook his head. "Don't be sorry, Thomas. We're all healing, we'll all be ok."

Thomas smiled once more, prompting everyone else to smile back.

Then a nurse came in. "Excuse me, is there a Mr. Edward Hill here?" She asked.

Edward looked up. "That's me." He nodded to the nurse.

The nurse smiled to him. "They're here."

Edward nodded, and smiled. "Thank you."

The nurse nodded, then left.

"Who's here, Edward?" Thomas asked, staring at his brother in question.

Edward turned around to Thomas, and smiled. "I brought you a little gift. A little, 'I'm glad you're ok', gift."

Thomas smiled. "Edward, you didn't have to get me a gift, really."

But Edward didn't reply. Instead, he turned back to the door.

"Ok girls. Come on in."

Thomas was puzzled. "Edward, what-"

But he was cut off as four women walked into the room.

Immediately, Thomas' jaw dropped, and tears started to spill from his wide eyes as he covered his mouth.

There, standing in front of his bed, were Ashima, Gina, Annie, and Clarabel. The same women from the London City Orphanage.

"A-Ashima, Gina..," Thomas gasped through silent sobs. "Annie, Clarabel.., y-you're all h-here…"

"Yes Thomas." Ashima smiled. "We're here."


	10. Chapter 9

**Behind the Most Cherished Smile is the Saddest Frown Ch. 9**

…

 _Thomas groaned as he sat up in his bed, the sunlight hitting his skin and wrapping him in a warm embrace._

 _He had been at the orphanage for a little over three years. He was ten now, but even after all those years at his new 'home', Thomas never healed physically from his wounds. The pain from the wounds was long gone, but the scars, cuts, and bruises were still there, looking brand new, as though he received them just the day before._

 _But he hadn't. It's been three years, and none of them had ever healed. Ashima and Gina had no clue why Thomas' wounds weren't healing and fading away, neither did he, or the other children at the orphanage._

 _They figured he'd be physically scarred for the rest of his life. But, Thomas could care less. At least he was in no pain, and he has had less and less nightmares and flashbacks._

 _But Thomas noticed something as he sat up in his bed. It was quiet- too quiet in his opinion. He finished rubbing his eyes, and looked around._

 _All the children were staring at him in shock._

" _What's wrong?" Thomas asked slowly._

 _A young boy, at the age of eleven, with black hair and blue eyes, walked up to him, holding a mirror. Thomas was confused- but the boy was persistent, so, Thomas shrugged, and looked into the smooth, reflective surface._

 _And his eyes widened._

 _It was as if though time had reversed- Thomas' skin was suddenly smooth. No scars, no cuts, no bruises. His eyes were bright blue once more, no longer dull and near lifeless- every scar on him was gone. His hair seemed so light and fluffy as well._

 _After all those years at the orphanage, Thomas thought he would never heal. But then, he wakes up, and suddenly, he looks as good as new..._

 _He no longer looked like a broken and scared boy. He looked like nothing had ever touched him. He looked-_

" _Precious."_

 _Thomas looked up at who spoke- a girl with grey eyes and blonde hair._

" _What did you say?" Thomas asked as he looked at her._

 _The girl smiled. "I said: precious. You look, so precious."_

 _Thomas smiled, and blushed a bit, the red contrasting beautifully against his pale skin._

" _Thank you…" He smiled._

 _Then the door opened and Gina stepped in. "Alright children, time to get-" But she stopped when she saw Thomas. "-up…"_

 _Thomas smiled. "Oh Gina!" He said happily as he jumped out of bed and ran to her. "Look! Look! I'm all healed!" He cheered as he twirled around._

 _Gina covered her mouth as she laughed. "Yes, yes, I see that." She smiled. "Oh, you look so lovely." She praised. "Ashima!" She called to her best friend. "You must see this!"_

 _The woman in mention then ran into the room. "What is it? Is something wrong?" She questioned frantically._

 _Gina shook her head, while smiling, and moved, so Ashima could see Thomas._

 _Ashima gasped. "Thomas…"_

 _Thomas laughed. "I know! Don't I look splendid?" He smiled._

 _Ashima nodded and smiled. "Most definitely." She said._

 _Thomas beamed, happy that he had no more scars._

…

…Only now, they came back, resurfacing, reeling their ugly forms once more, and tarnishing Thomas' snowy skin.

But Thomas didn't care. All that he cared about was that his friends and family were safe.

Besides, he had other more pressing matters on his mind at the moment. Like, the fact that the women from his childhood were standing right in front of him.

Thomas tried his best to muffle the sobs that were quietly coming from his mouth, but no avail as he finally gave up, and started to freely sob in front of everyone.

Annie, Clarabel, Ashima and Gina smiled in adoration at the crying boy in front of them, before walking up to him. Annie and Clarabel sat on either side of his bed, while Ashima and Gina sat on the edges of the bed.

Slowly, Thomas did his best to sit up as he looked at the four. "I can't believe you girls are actually here…" He said breathlessly.

"We tried our best to find you, Thomas." Ashima smiled.

"But eventually, Annie and Clarabel came back, claiming they found you." Gina said.

Thomas looked confused. "What?"

Annie smiled. "The entire reason we came to the orphanage in the first place was to seek directions to Sodor, Thomas. So we could find jobs." She said.

"Both of us now manage coaches down at the yard." Clarabel said. "We're like- flight attendants but, for coaches." She explained.

"So… you've been on Sodor for a while now?" Thomas asked.

Clarabel nodded. "That's right."

Thomas looked down, then back up at them with curious eyes. "Then why didn't you come to me sooner?"

Annie sighed. "Thomas, we only found out that you were on the island about a week ago."

"That's when we went back to London, to find Ashima and Gina- so they could know." Clarabel said. "Then we went to Edward- to explain who we were."

"Oh…" Thomas said, after learning the new information.

Ashima then leaned forward, and hugged him. "To me, Thomas." She said. "It doesn't matter how long it took for us to find you."

Gina then moved so she could gently pull Thomas into her lap, but was still careful of his wounds.

"What does matter, is that we _found_ you, Thomas." She smiled, as she gently hugged the fifteen year old.

Thomas smiled back, and quietly relaxed in the Italian's hold.

All the while, Edward, Rosie, Gordon, the rest of the Steam Team, and their siblings watched quietly, with smiles on their faces.

…

"Well?" A doctor asked a nurse. "How is he?"

The nurse quickly flipped through some papers on her clipboard, before smiling a bit. "The good news is, is that he will live." She said. "The bad news is, is that he hasn't woken up." She said. "I wouldn't classify it as a coma, however. Just, not responding to anything yet." She said.

"What does strike me as odd however- is his name." She mumbled. "Diesel 10…"

The doctor shook his head. "Nevermind his name. It's just a relief that he will live."

The nurse blushed in embarrassment, as she rubbed the back of her neck. "Yes, of course. How mindless of me."

The doctor smiled a bit. "Nevermind that. We should go, let him recover. We'll come back and check on him in a while."

The nurse nodded. "Yes, doctor." Then she left, following the doctor, quietly closing the door behind her.

In the bed, Diesel 10 groaned, as he tried to break out of his stupor, mumbling a single word in the process.

"Thomas…"


	11. Chapter 10

**Behind the Most Cherished Smile is the Saddest Frown Ch. 10**

 **A/N. For all those who say Lady is in the story, or that she healed a character- I'm sorry, but she isn't in this story. No characters are healed right now.**

…

Thomas smiled at all his friends, with such radiance and happiness, he, for a moment, forgot all about his wounds. "I'm so glad you're all safe." He said.

James wheeled himself forward, and placed his hand on Thomas' and smiled. "And we're glad you're ok too."

Thomas looked down, then back up at the red headed boy, smiling. But realization quickly dawned on him as he shot up in his bed.

"Diesel 10!- OW!" He gasped as he fell back onto the bed, gasping harshly, a pale hand clutching his chest in agony.

Edward rushed forwards, and helped Thomas sit up so he could take some pain killers. "You must stop moving so fast Thomas." He said, helping his brother lie back down.

Thomas gave a pained sheepish smile before nodding. "I know… I'm sorry." He said. "But still- where's Diesel 10?"

Then they all heard the door open to Thomas' room, and everyone looked towards it just in time to see Gordon leave the room, a hopeful look on his face.

Toby smiled. "I believe we're going to find out soon." He said.

About ten minutes later, Gordon came back into the room… wheeling Diesel 10 in a wheelchair.

Thomas let out a quick sob of relief at seeing the older man. "Diesel 10!" He cried.

He had bandages around nearly half of his face, especially around his left cheek and forehead. His arm was in a cast, his legs were covered in bruises, and there were bandages around his chest, and most likely his torso and stomach. But Thomas couldn't see due to the hospital gown.

The man in mention however gave a weak smile. "Hey kid…"

Thomas scanned him over with both fear and relief in his eyes. "Are you ok?" He asked.

Diesel 10 chuckled. "Never better, Thomas. I'm just glad you're ok."

Edward smiled, happy that they were all healing, slowly, but still healing.

"Thomas." He said comfortingly. "Will you be alright?" The twenty nine year old asked. "I mean, your Father is finally in jail, but now…"

"You don't really have any blood family now…" Rosie said.

Everyone then looked at the small blue haired boy as he quietly put his head down, and thought of an answer.

Slowly, Thomas smiled. "I know my Mother isn't here anymore." He said. "I know my Father isn't with me anymore, as well. But I could care less. I know my Mother is safe up there, and I know my Father will see justice- but you know what?" He said as he looked back up at his friends. "I don't need a Father. I have you." He said as he smiled at Edward, Rosie, and Gordon. "My siblings. And that's all I need."

Edward, Rosie, and Gordon all smiled. "You also have your friends, and Annie, Clarabel, Ashima, and Gina." Gordon said.

"And me." Diesel 10 smiled. Thomas smiled back.

"But, what _are_ you going to do, Thomas?" James asked, the fear in his eyes unmistakable.

Thomas sighed. "I don't know. I do know court will most likely be involved, however." He said. "And I will do everything in my power, to make sure Alan never hurts anyone ever again. I'll see to it that all of us, and finally, my Mother, gets justice." He said. "Something, long overdue."

Despite the pain in his lower body, James hoisted himself out of his wheelchair, and pushed himself forward, his upper body landing on Thomas' bed, and his knees hitting the ground.

Hiro's eyes widened as he rushed forward. "James! James, my brother, what are you thinking?! You are far too weak to walk at this moment!" He said as he picked James up, about ready to place him back in his wheelchair.

"No!" James protested. "Please, I want to be with Thomas." He begged, clutching onto his older brother's suit.

Hiro smiled, and looked over at Thomas. "Is that alright with you, my best friend?" He then quickly realized that even after Thomas helped him all those years ago, he still referred to Thomas as his best friend, which made Percy chuckle.

Regardless, Thomas smiled. "Yes, that's fine with me." Then he slowly crossed his legs, making space for James.

Gently, Hiro placed James onto Thomas' bed, then backed away.

James looked at Thomas, and smiled. The blue haired boy instantly smiled back.

James placed a soft hand on his shoulder. "You know things will get better, right?" James asked, gently squeezing Thomas' shoulder.

Thomas nodded. "I know.., it'll take time, though." James nodded in agreement.

Then James silently placed his forehead on Thomas' and pulled him into a hug. "But we'll get through it."

Thomas hugged back, a relieved look on his face. "Together." He said

Then James pulled away. "Ok, you can, put me back in my wheelchair now." He said slowly, his eyes not leaving Thomas.

Hiro nodded, and gently picked James up, and placed him back into his wheelchair.

Edward, Rosie, and Gordon then stepped forward, and sat down.

Thomas smiled as he quickly hugged them. "I love you guys. So, so much…"

All three of the older Hill siblings smiled and hugged back.

"We love you too, Thomas." Edward said.

Just then, a nurse came into the room.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but visiting hours are over." She said.

She sighed softly with a small smile on her face when she saw the uneasy looks on their faces. "Don't worry. We'll keep a close eye on anything or anyone suspicious that enters the hospital." She reassured.

Everyone quietly nodded in understanding.

"You get better soon Thomas!" Percy exclaimed as Henry wheeled him out of the room.

"Goodbye Thomas!"

"See you tomorrow kid!"

"Get some rest."

"Goodnight, little brother!"

Then one by one, everyone left Thomas' room.

Thomas smiled, and silently waved to his friends and family as they all left.

Thomas stayed awake for about an hour longer, looking out his window at the starry sky, before quietly slipping into a dreamless sleep.

Silently, the window to Thomas' room slowly opened up.

Then a man jumped in, landing on the smooth floor without a sound.

Alan stood up from his crouched position on the floor, and walked over to his estranged son's bed, and quietly observed him.

Alan was wearing an orange prison jumpsuit, and the handcuffs around his wrists and ankles were broken, now looking like metal bracelets. He also hand bandages around his head, and around his stomach, from where he was shot. But that mattered little to him.

Quite amused, he smirked to himself. "Amazing how dense these Sodor police men are." He mumbled to himself. "I bet they still don't know I'm gone." He chuckled.

Quietly, he reached into his shirt, and pulled out two items: a chloroform soaked cloth, and a syringe full of sedatives.

He looked down at Thomas with absolute detestation in his eyes. "I told you not to run away, boy." He rumbled. "Now you're going to learn what happens when you disobey the rules."

Then he quickly injected the sedatives into Thomas' arm and placed the chloroform rag over Thomas' mouth and nose, to help muffle any sounds.

Thomas' eyes flew open in fright and agony. He quickly found himself staring into the dark blue eyes of his Father's. He tried to fight him away, but with the sedatives, chloroform, and Alan's strength combined all together, it made Thomas extremely drowsy and helpless very fast.

Alan grinned maniacally as he watched Thomas fall into a drug induced sleep. "Night-night, Thomas." He sneered.

When he was sure that Thomas was unconscious, Alan pulled away.

Quickly, he wrenched the wires and tubes out from Thomas' body, leaving harsh red tape marks, and blood oozing from the puncture wounds, and picked up the small boy, throwing him over his shoulder.

"Have fun finding you 'Precious Child', now Sodor." He laughed as he jumped out the window, and ran away, disappearing into the night…


	12. Chapter 11

**Behind the Most Cherished Smile is the Saddest Frown Ch. 11**

 **A/N. Ok, let me make something clear. Lady will** _ **not**_ **be in this story. At all. She has** _ **no**_ **part in this story**

…

Gordon was silently sleeping in his bed, when he was suddenly jerked away by harsh shaking, and someone yelling, "GORDON, WAKE UP!"

"Huh?!" He gasped as he shot up in his bed.

Quicker than he could comprehend, his forehead collided into his older brother's, causing both him and Edward to jerk back, holding their heads in pain.

"Ugh… Edward, what's wrong?" Gordon asked through the spots in his vision as he rubbed his forehead. "Is everything ok?"

Edward ignored the pain in his head as he stared at Gordon, the fear obvious in his eyes. "I just got a call from the hospital!" He said frantically. "Something's happened, and they need us to come down there immediately!"

Gordon was instantly wide awake as he flew out of his bed, and quickly got dressed, then threw his shoes on. "Let's go!"

Then Rosie burst in, holding all their coats.

Not even five minutes later, the Hill sibling trio was out the door, and running to the hospital. When the sliding doors whooshed open, the three ran to the front desk.

The receptionist ran up to them, confusion in his eyes. "Woah, calm down everyone." He said.

Edward took a deep breath, trying to calm his rattling nerves. "We- we're Edward, Rosie, and Gordon Hill. We received a call from here, saying that something was wrong with our little brother, Thomas Hill. Please, may we see him?"

The receptionist's face darkened. "Go up to his room…" He said quietly. "The police are there, waiting to talk to you."

The police…" Gordon mumbled. "What do you mean the police are there?!" He yelled with tears brimming in his eyes.

Rosie stepped forward and placed her hands on Gordon's shoulders. "Gordon, please!" She pleaded. "Don't do this… let's just go."

Gordon sighed as he let his head fall into his hands in defeat. "Alright…" He said, his voice falling to a mutter.

Quietly, the three remaining Hill siblings trudged to the elevators to head to Thomas' room while everyone stared after them with sympathetic looks.

…

Once they reached Thomas' door, their hearts sank. But, they quietly entered, and were immediately met with police officers, a doctor, a nurse, and- an empty hospital.

"Where's Thomas?!" Edward shrieked.

A police man came up to the Hill siblings, a sad look on his face. "I am afraid that sometime in the middle of the night, Thomas was abducted." He said.

"By who?!" Gordon growled.

Before the police man could respond, Edward saw something gleam from under the bed. He bent down, and picked it up so he could get a closer look. It was a syringe, and it had some semi dark liquid still inside it. So, he walked up to a nurse, still holding the syringe.

"Excuse me, miss, but, is this the hospitals?" He asked as he gave her the syringe.

The nurse looked it over, before shaking her head. "No… it's not ours."

"How would you know?" Rosie asked. "Aren't all syringes marked the same?"

"Most are, yes." The nurse said. "However, our syringes are marked with clouds, so as to not get them mixed up with the Sodor Prison syringes."

"Sodor Prison?!" Gordon screamed.

"Yes, this is a Sodor Prison syringe, because it's marked with black marks." The nurse said.

The police man immediately walked up to the Hill siblings. "Wasn't your little brother's Father here, recently?" He asked slowly.

Edward nodded, the fear building up in his chest. "Yes… he was.., taken to jail only a little while ago…. His name is Alan Fearnley."

The police man then quickly started talking into his walkie talkie. "Police officer Serling to HQ." He said, then waited for a response.

" _HQ to officer Sterling, go ahead."_

"I'm at the Sodor Blossom Hospital, investigating the recent disappearance of fifteen year old Thomas Hill." He explained. "I need you to look into our recent convict, someone by the name of Alan Fearnley?"

There was silence on the other side of the line before someone spoke again.

' _Ah yes, Alan Fearnley. Charged with attempted murder, assault, robbery, abuse and many other charges. He's also wanted for first degree murder of his wife Celia Fearnley nearly eight years ago back in London. Although this charge has only been given just- yesterday in fact. Mr. Fearnley was able to hide his wife's murder for a very long time."_

The police officer looked at the Hill siblings sadly before walking away to continue the conversation without being interrupted. About five minutes later, he came back, the sad expression still on his face.

Edward's eyes widened and he gasped- he knew where this was leading up to. "He escaped… didn't he?" He asked shakily.

Slowly, the police officer nodded. "He escaped last night. No one noticed, and now… all signs point to Alan having taking Thomas."

Gordon growled. "Well then you haven't been doing your job, have you?!"

Both Edward and Rosie both hit him in the shoulder. "Gordon, _please_! Don't start!" Edward said exasperated. "Some criminals are just smarter than others!"

"But police should always be on guard!" Gordon shouted. "That's their job!"

"Gordon, this is Alan Fearnley we're talking about!" Rosie said. "Didn't you hear what the man on the walkie talkie said? He was able to hide his wife's murder for _eight years_! If he's able to do that, then surely he could sneak out of prison and to the hospital with ease!" She said. "Just let the police men do their work!"

Gordon sighed, before the rage returned to his eyes. He didn't care if he got in trouble for this; but he walked up to the officer and grabbed the collar of his shirt. And since he was substantially taller, Gordon lifted the officer off his feet.

"You- find my little brother." He growled. "Do you understand?"

The officer just looked at him sympathetically. "I'll do what I can." He promised.

Gordon stared at him firmly, before letting go, and backing away back to his siblings, who all embraced each other in a group hug.

…

Thomas groaned as he tried to sit up, but it was hard when both his wrists and ankles were bound with zip ties, and his chest was still healing.

So, Thomas tried to look around to see his surroundings better. But all he could see were four metal walls, and a door that was locked from the outside.

He had no idea where he was. This place didn't look the least bit familiar- Thomas didn't even know if he was in Sodor anymore.

He looked down in defeat. Tears started to slowly roll down his face in pain and sadness as he felt the wound in his chest open up. Gradually, he felt blood start to seep from the gunshot wound, and stain his shirt. He felt lightheaded and weak, and his vision started to blur.

Suddenly, he heard the door open. Thomas looked up quickly, and saw Alan walking in, holding a metal rod.

"W-why are you doing this?" Thomas asked. "Why didn't you just leave me be?" He sniffed. "I was out of your life, and so was mom!"

Alan's only response was to raise the rod, and strike Thomas' side, making the blue haired boy cry in pain.

"You are the reason for my downfall, boy!" He sneered. "You just had to tell someone what I was doing, didn't you?!"

"I was a child! I didn't know it was wrong!" Thomas defended. "I thought someone had to know!"

"Shut up, little urchin!" Alan growled. "It's time for you to learn your lesson." He said as he raised the metal rod.

The screams that rang out through the night were agonizing, heart wrenching, unbearable, and everything in between. Anyone would heard them would've immediately broke down sobbing but- no one was there to hear them.

And no one was there to save Thomas from his torment.

"P-ple-ease… E-Edward… Rosie, Gordon… where are you… m-make i-it st-stop… please…"


	13. Chapter 12

**Behind the Most Cherished Smile is the Saddest Frown Ch. 12**

 **A.N. Guys. How many times do I have to make this clear? Lady isn't playing** _ **any**_ **part in this story. Please stop asking me to involve her… I don't even** _ **want**_ **to involve her.**

 **A.N. 2 Song used: 'Step Into the Open Air' from the movie** _ **Brave**_ **(I own nothing)**

…

 _It was a dark and stormy night, rain was pattering the ground relentlessly, and dark clouds covered the starry night sky._

' _Could these walls come crumbling down?  
I want to feel my feet on the ground  
and leave behind this prison we share  
Step into the open air…'_

 _But the storm didn't bother Celia Fearnley. She sat comfortably in her home, in a red polished rocking chair, and was sewing into a new quilt she was making for her family._

 _She was inside, with her most prized treasure, in front of a warm fire, in a very well-lit home, and she was singing softly._

' _How did we let it come to this?  
What we just tasted we somehow still miss  
How will it feel when this day is done  
and can we keep what we've only begun?'_

 _Five year old Thomas Fearnley sat in front of her, on the floor, playing with his train that he got for his fourth birthday, not a care in the world. That is until-_

 _BANG!_

 _Thunder and lightning flashed and crashed across the sky, causing Thomas to scream in fear, drop his train, and hide under his Mother's quilt._

 _Celia chucked, and lifted the quilt, so see could see her little son. When his head poked out, she smiled. "Aww… my brave little boy." She cooed, brushing her hand through his light blue, soft hair. "Don't be scared, I'm here." She said, as she hugged him, holding Thomas close to her heart. "I will always be here."_

 _Thomas smiled, and looked up at his Mother with a radiant smile._

 _Celia smiled back, and pulled the five year old fully into her arms, before placing her forehead on his._

 _Quietly, they both began to sing._

' _And now these walls come crumbling down  
and I can feel my feet on the ground  
Can we carry this love that we share  
into the open air?  
Into the open air  
Into the open air_

 _This love, it is a burning sun'_

…

Thomas slowly opened his eyes, blinking away the memory and tears in his eyes.

He tried his best to sit up, but that was hard when he had heavy chains wrapped around him, digging into his skin.

He looked down at himself, and blushed in embarrassment and shame.

His body was covered in bruises of varies sizes and colors, gashes that were scabbed over with dried blood, and what little clothing he was wearing was almost ripped in half.

When he was taken from the hospital, he was only in a white hospital gown that went down to his knees. It was now ripped almost completely in half, but the rip stopped just before it reached the middle of his chest. He pulled it around him in hast, trying desperately to cover his body.

Thomas gave a pained sigh, before looking around.

But he gasped. He was somewhere completely different. When did Alan move him?

It looked… like he was in a basement of some sort. The floors were cold and hard, the walls were a mix between metal and wood, and the room itself was cold.

Thomas looked to his left, and saw a single small window that looked outside. He saw grey clouds, and snow. Thomas then looked to his right, and saw a set of stairs that lead up to a door that seemed like it was locked from the outside.

"Awake so soon?"

Thomas' head snapped up towards the new voice, and came face to face with his Father.

Alan was standing about seven feet away from Thomas, a deadly smirk on his face.

The fifteen year old quickly fell backwards in fear, and tried backing away.

But Alan grabbed ahold of one end of the chains that were holding Thomas, and yanked him harshly forwards.

Thomas let a wail leave his mouth as he was dragged forwards, now only a foot away from his Father on his side.

"Why- why are you doing this..?" Thomas gasped, staring up at the man with watery, broken eyes.

"You know why…" Alan sneered.

Thomas rose an eyebrow, before closing his eyes.

…

 _Thomas was humming cheerfully as he skipped into his home, after getting home from the park with his Mother. It was now sunset, but today had been a fun day._

 _First, his Mother took him to the grocery store to buy some glitter glue and construction paper for a project he wanted to do. Then, she took him to a diner for lunch. Lastly, she took him to the park._

 _Playing there was quite fun. Thomas even made a new friend. His name was James._

 _But Thomas pushed those thoughts aside. He turned around once he reached the doorway, and smiled at his Mother who was still at the car._

 _She smiled back. "Now remember!" She called to her son. "Tonight, I work late, so you be good for your Father!"_

" _I will, Mother!" Thomas replied._

 _Celia smiled. "I'll see you tomorrow, Little T!" The she got back in the car, and drove away. Thomas waved to her, until she was out of sight._

 _When she was, Thomas went inside, and shut the door behind him. "Dad! I'm home! You won't believe how much fun I had!" He called out. But there was no answer._

 _Thomas frowned in confusion as he looked around. Strange… he didn't see or hear his Father anywhere. Quietly, he went upstairs, hoping to find his Father somewhere there._

 _He walked down the hallway, listening quietly._

 _After a few moments, Thomas heard laughing; coming from the guest bedroom. But it wasn't just one person laughing- it was two. A man and a woman._

 _Thomas was confused. Why would there by laughing coming from the guest bedroom? Did dad have a guest over?_

 _Thomas, thinking nothing of it, opened the door. "Dad, who's the-" but when the door opened, Thomas gasped._

 _There was Thomas' Father sitting on the guest bed, with another women. She had red hair and green eyes- and it looked like they were about to kiss._

 _Scattered all around them were pills of various colors both in and out of bottles, bags with numerous powders inside, and beer bottles strewn all around them as well._

 _His Father and the mystery woman stared at him with shock and mild anger._

" _Thomas…" Alan started, but Thomas didn't stick around to hear anymore. He bolted from the guest room, and made a beeline down the hallway to his room, before slamming the door and locking it._

 _A few seconds later, he heard pounding on his door. However, it stopped after a few moments._

 _Mumbling was heard just outside his room, before it faded away._

 _Then the sound of a door slamming could be heard._

 _Thomas sat on his bed in complete shock. He had no idea what he had just seen, but from the way his Father and that lady acted, it didn't seem good._

 _Thomas sighed. Why was his Father with another woman? Why were they about to kiss? Didn't he say he only loved his wife?_

 _The small boy bit his lip. He wondered…_

 _Quietly, he opened his door, and left his room._

 _Thomas looked around, but didn't hear or see anything. "Did they just- leave me?" Thomas wondered aloud, before slowly walking back to the guest bedroom._

 _Warily, he looked inside._

 _The pills, the powders, and the bottles were still there._

 _Curious, Thomas walked in to get a better look. As he walked in, he neared the nightstand, which had a small pile of white powder._

 _Thomas stared at the small pile of powder. He knew he shouldn't do what he was about to do, but he was curious. So, Thomas lifted his hand, and stuck his finger in the powder._

 _It felt soft, and a little gritty._

 _Thomas pulled his finger away, and looked at the powder that now coated his finger. Slowly, he brought it to his mouth and licked it._

 _After a few moments, he wished he hadn't. The taste of bleach and baking powder filled his mouth, before he felt his tongue go numb._

 _Quickly, he spat it out, and ran out of the room, down the stairs, and to the kitchen._

 _Once he was there, he threw open the fridge, and pulled out a bottle of chocolate milk. Faster than ever, the five year old chugged it down. Slowly, the taste of bleach and baking powder faded away, and feeling started returning to his tongue._

 _Thomas dry heaved. "What… what_ _ **was**_ _that?!" He wondered to himself._

 _Throwing the now empty chocolate milk bottle away, Thomas walked to the living room, and sat on the couch, and just waited._

 _Suddenly, Thomas eyes snapped open as he heard the door slam shut. He looked at the time._

 _11:15pm…_

 _When had he fallen asleep?_

" _Alan? Honey, I'm home!" Came the voice of his Mother. "They let me go home early. Where are you?"_

 _Thomas sat up. "They're not here, Mother."_

 _Celia nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard her son's voice._

 _Slowly, Thomas stood up on the couch, and faced his Mother._

 _Once the initial shock left her, Celia became confused. "Thomas! What are you doing awake? Why aren't you in bed?"_

" _They aren't here." Thomas repeated._

 _Celia put her purse down. "What do you mean, 'they' sweetheart?" She asked softly, as she walked up to him. "Did your Father leave you here alone?" She gasped._

 _Thomas nodded. "Yes, and so did the lady."_

 _Celia was now in front of Thomas. "What lady?"_

" _I don't know her name. But she had red hair and green eyes. She-"_

" _Hold on." Celia said suddenly, as she leaned closer to her son's face. "What's this? On your cheek." She brought her left hand up to Thomas' face, before wiping her fingers across his cheek._

 _When she withdrew her hand, Thomas saw white stuff on her fingers._

 _Celia looked at the substance on her fingers, before sniffing it; her eyes widened. "Thomas…" She said slowly. "Where… where did you get this?"_

 _Thomas stared at her. "Will- will I get in trouble."_

" _No." Celia said. "Now. Where did you get this?"_

" _In the guest bedroom…" Thomas said. "There was also pills and bottles."_

…

"That- that was your own fault!" Thomas gasped. "You left it all out! You left me alone!"

"Shut it, you little urchin!" Alan roared, hitting Thomas in the head with a metal pipe he seemed to have gotten out of nowhere. "You decided to say something about it!"

Thomas screamed and fell back, holding his head as throbs plagued his head.

"Now shut up, and keep still." Came Alan's hate filled voice as he neared Thomas.

…

James sat outside in his wheelchair with no coat on, on the porch of Tidmouth Sheds as he stared out at the snowy, starry night sky in hopelessness. "Oh Thomas…" He sighed. "Where… where are you..?"

Suddenly, he felt something warm being draped over his shoulders.

James gasped, and looked up to see his big brother Hiro standing next to him. Then he looked at himself, and saw a blanket laid over his shoulders.

He sighed and looked away. "Hiro… this isn't fair…" He whispered. "Thomas… he didn't deserve this."

Hiro bit his lip, and sat down on the bench next to his little brother. "None of you did. At all."

"But now Thomas is gone!" James suddenly cried. "And- and we don't know where he is…"

Hiro sighed. "I'm sorry, James." He said. "But we've looked everywhere."

"No, no we haven't." James said. "We haven't searched everywhere." He said. "We haven't."

"Where haven't we look, then?"

James looked down. "…I don't know."

Hiro sighed again. "You need some sleep, James. Come on." The he slowly wheeled his little brother back into Tidmouth, and into the living room.

Once there, he picked James up, and pushed the wheelchair into the closet, before taking him upstairs.

Everyone else was already asleep, so the two tried their best to be quiet.

When they reached their room, Hiro walked in and quietly placed James on his bed, before covering the red head with blankets.

"Goodnight, James." Hiro whispered, leaning down to kiss his forehead. "Try and get some sleep, alright?"

James nodded. "Alright…" Then he turned onto his side, and slowly closed his eyes.

…

 _A small seven year old James skipped excitedly through the park, eager to reach the swings. "Come on, Hiro! Come on!" He called to his older brother._

 _17 year old Hiro chuckled as he walked behind his little brother. "I'm coming, I'm coming James." He said. "But don't run so quickly! You might hurt yourself!"_

" _No I won't- oof!"_

 _But James' protest was cut off as he rammed into someone, and landed on top of them._

" _Ow…" Came a meek voice from under him._

 _James gasped and quickly scrambled to get off of whoever he landed on. "This is what I get for not listening to Hiro." James grumbled to himself, while dusting off his jacket._

 _Then he quickly looked to see who he landed on. "Are you alright? I'm really sorry-" but he gasped when he saw who he collided with._

 _It was another boy. He looked small – James figured the boy was younger than him. He had strikingly stunning ice blue eyes and fluffy blue hair._

 _James was completely awestruck as he stared at him with wide eyes, before shaking his head. "I'm sorry." He said to the boy as he helped him up. "I wasn't watching where I was going. I didn't mean to run into you, are you alright?"_

 _The boy nodded. "Oh, I'm fine." He smiled. "I'm Thomas, by the way. Who are you?"_

 _James smiled. "My name is James! Nice to meet you Thomas!" He said as he held out his hand._

 _Thomas smiled again and took it, shaking James' hand._

" _James!" Came Hiro's voice as he ran up to the two boys. "I told you not to run so quickly!"_

 _James blushed. "I know, Hiro." He said sheepishly. "But we're both ok! And I think I made a friend!" He said as he wrapped his arm around Thomas' shoulders. "Hiro, this is Thomas. Thomas, this is Hiro, my older brother!"_

 _Thomas smiled. "Hi Hiro!"_

 _Hiro smiled and knelt down on his knees. "Well, hello Thomas! Are you sure you're alright?"_

 _Thomas nodded. "Yes!" He said cheerily. "It was just an accident."_

 _Hiro nodded. "Alright." He said, standing up._

" _Thomas!" A female voice yelled in concern._

 _Then a woman James didn't see before ran up to them and gently took Thomas by the shoulders. "Are you alright, sweetheart?"_

 _Thomas nodded. "I'm fine, Mother." He said. "It was only an accident. This is James and Hiro!" He said, pointing to the two he had just met._

 _Then he turned back to the two. "This is my mom." He smiled._

 _The woman stood up and smiled. "Hello." She said. "My name is Celia. Celia Fearnley."_

 _Hiro smiled, and the two shook hands. "My name is Hiro. Hiro Noble. And this is James Noble, my little brother."_

 _Celia smiled. "Hello James." She waved to him._

 _James waved back. "Hello Mrs. Fearnley!" Then he turned back to Thomas. "Want to go play?"_

 _Thomas nodded. "Oh yes!" He smiled._

 _Then the two ran to the swings._

 _Since Thomas was smaller than him, James had to help Thomas sit in the swing before he sat in the one next to him._

 _As they were swinging, they started asking questions about each other._

" _Hey, Thomas?" James asked. "How old are you? I'm seven!"_

 _Thomas smiled. "I'm five!" What's your favourite color?"_

" _Red." James smiled. "What about you?"_

" _Blue." Thomas replied, while giggling._

 _The two then played the rest of the day._

 _They would race each other to see who could go down the slide faster, see who could swing higher, and just chase each other around the park._

 _James had never had this much fun before._

 _It was almost sundown when they had to leave._

 _While they were sad, James and Thomas made a promise to each other that they would see each other again. And they did. They continued playing together and hanging out for two years. James really liked Thomas. He was the greatest friend James ever had._

 _On James' ninth birthday, he was waiting for Thomas to show up at the park – but he never did. James was so confused. Thomas always came to see James, but this time, he didn't show up._

 _He waited, and waited, and waited, but Thomas never showed up._

 _When he asked Hiro to see where he was, to James' shock, Hiro couldn't find anything._

 _Alan Fearnley, Thomas' Father, just disappeared. So did Celia Fearnley, and Thomas. They just- vanished, no sign of them._

 _However, when investigated, at the Fearnley home, blood was discovered. But no bodies._

 _James' heart sank. Even though he didn't fully understand, he knew one thing was certain._

 _Thomas was gone… his first real friend, was gone._

…

James' eyes shot open, and he quickly sat up. Despite the pain it caused in his lower body, James quietly got out of bed, and walked to the window, trying to calm his rapid breathing.

"I… I knew him." James gasped. "I _knew_ him…!" He said quietly.

James looked over behind him and saw Hiro sleeping in the other bed next to his.

James sighed. "I knew Thomas…" He said again. " _We_ knew him…" He looked at the time.

2:04am…

Flinching, James pushed himself off of the window sill, and walked to his bed. Quickly, he grabbed his coat, and threw on his shoes.

He knew he shouldn't be trying to walk just yet, but James needed to clear his head.

Slowly, he limped his way out of Tidmouth, and just walked.

He walked into the forest, and went deeper than ever.

But as he walked further, he saw a light in the distance.

Strange… normally when you go deeper into the forest, James thought it got darker, not lighter.

But as he got closer, he noticed the light was from, well, an actual light.

It was a house..!

He was about to go further under the door opened, and out walked-

Alan Fearnley.

James gasped and quickly hid behind a tree. Only then did he realize he walked too much. His legs and sides felt like they were on fire.

He bit his lip to silence a whimper of pain from escaping his throat.

He watched quietly as Alan walked further out of the house; he was carrying a bloody knife, chain, and metal pipe.

James felt his stomach churn in disgust as he covered his mouth.

He watched Alan toss the bloodied items into a large metal bucket, then he started filling the bucket with water.

Suddenly, Alan started laughing. He started laughing like the maniac he was.

"They'll never find him this time. I'll make sure of it." Alan sneered.

 _Oh we'll see about that…_ James thought darkly as he limped away from his position and back to Tidmouth.

He knew where Thomas was now, and he knew that the next time he went back to confront Alan – he wouldn't be coming alone…


	14. Chapter 13

**Behind the Most Cherished Smile is the Saddest Frown Ch. 13**

 **A.N. Guys –** _ **70 reviews**_ **?! Awe, I feel so loved! I haven't had a story have this popular ever before. Thank you guys, so so much :)**

 **A.N. 2 Sorry guys…**

…

James gasped in pain as he walked through the forest. His legs were sluggishly dragging across the snow covered forest floor in a desperate attempt to get back to Tidmouth.

Snow was now falling heavily, making it hard to see; and wind started blowing, making it even harder. James pulled his jacket around him tighter in an attempt to keep the cold at bay, but it seemed to do little to help.

"Why did a snowstorm have to happen now?" James mumbled, as his lips started quivering, and his teeth started chattering.

James wanted to keep going, but he could feel his energy fading fast, and before he knew it, he hit the ground with a muffled 'thud', landing face first in the snow.

"Ohh…" James whimpered in pain as he sat up using his forearms. "I shouldn't have walked so far..!" He gasped. "But- if I didn't… I wouldn't have the information I have now…"

James choked, and dug his fingers into the snow and dirt below him. His lower body felt as though it were on fire; and the snow didn't help either. It soaked his pants, and the cold and wind seeped through the soft material, and onto his skin. It tingled his bare legs and made the pain worse.

Soon, however, James felt a new wetness; it felt warm and ran down his leg, and another warmth spread across his side.

Carefully, James lifted the hem of his pants away from his waist, and saw blood seeping through the bandages across his side. Then, pulling up his pant leg, James saw blood running down his leg from the other gunshot wound he received when fighting Alan.

James sighed, and let go of his pant leg, letting it drop.

He didn't know what to do. He knew he had to get back to Tidmouth, but he didn't know _how_. In all honesty, James just wanted to curl up into a ball right there, and just go to sleep.

"No." James scolded himself. "You can't do that. You have to get back to Tidmouth, and tell the others what you found. You have to rescue Thomas."

But James couldn't get up again. His lower half was numb, and he couldn't feel anything. So, he resorted to the one thing he knew he could do.

He started dragging himself across the ground.

He hefted his arms in front him, both hitting the ground rhythmically one by one, and he used his elbows to drag his body across the ground.

But that didn't work either.

His arms felt numb after only dragging himself a few feet. Gasping and coughing, James fell to the ground, utterly defeated. Moving slowly, he turned over onto his back, and laid down.

And, despite himself, he started crying.

Hot tears rolled down his face, and fell into both his red hair, and the snow. His lungs were burning from inhaling too much cold air. Slowly, he felt his feet start to go numb.

Then his legs.

Then his fingers.

Soon, James felt completely weighted down. It was like he couldn't move at all, but the pain he felt was still there.

He started shivering, and the world around him started to spin, making him feel sick. James closed his eyes to rid himself of the spinning images. After a few minutes, he reopened them, and more tears spilled from his eyes.

His breathing started to slow, his body started to relax, and his eyes started to close.

James was scared but – he couldn't do anything.

That seemed to be the case, until he heard rustling from the shadows of the trees.

Even though he was numb, he still was able to lift his head up, and shimmy backwards in fear.

What if that was Alan?

What if he saw James and was coming to get him?

James' breathing became heavy, deep, and scratchy as he waited in fear.

But, to his relief, when the figures came out of the shadows, he saw they were just Thomas' friends, Annie, Clarabel, Ashima, and Gina.

"James?!" Ashima gasped. "What- what are you doing out here so late? Is- is that blood?!" She stuttered, staring at the darker stains on James pants.

James just shook his head. "Help me, please." He begged. "We need to get out of here. It's not safe…"

Gina walked forwards and hoisted James up onto his feet, and slung one of his arms over her shoulders. "What do you mean, 'not safe'?"

James felt his legs shake under him, but tried his best to steady himself. "I- I went for a walk to clear my head of a… dream." He explained as they all started walking out of the forest. "I walked into the forest, deeper than I thought… but- but…"

"But what?" Annie asked.

"I found Thomas…"

"WHAT?!" All the girls screamed.

"Be quiet…!" James said fearfully. "I found Thomas, but I also found his Father. They're in a house close to where you found me; that's why I said it wasn't safe where we were."

"You- you found Thomas…" Clarabel smiled slowly. "You found… S-Sodor's Precious Child."

James nodded. He was about to reply verbally but, without warning, his legs gave out on him, and he went down, his grasp on Gina loosening. He hit the ground on his hands and knees with a cry of pain leaving his lips, before his body went limp.

"James!" Annie cried out in terror. "What- what's happened?!"

"My- my legs…" James gasped. "They hurt… but I can't f-feel anything…"

The girls looked at each in fear. None of them were strong enough to actually carry James, especially when he was completely numb, and unable to move.

So Ashima and Gina moved over to James, and formed some sort of group hug to keep him warm.

"Annie, Clarabel. You two run back to Tidmouth. Get help." Ashima said quietly and urgently.

The two sisters nodded and ran off.

Ashima and Gina looked back to James and held him close, the red head shivering in their grasp.

A few minutes later, footsteps could be heard running towards the three from where Annie and Clarabel ran off.

Edward and Hiro ran into view with Annie and Clarabel at their heels.

"James!" Hiro cried out in worry, and landing on his knees next to his brother. Ashima and Gina moved away to let the two brothers talk.

Hiro shook his head, and wrapped a blanket he brought with him around the smaller boy, before picking him up. "What- what were you thinking?!" He scolded, his voice filled with anger, but also worry.

The seventeen year old shook his head. "B-be mad at me la-later…" He whispered, as they walked back to Tidmouth. "But… I found Thomas."

Edward's breath hitched loudly. Quickly he walked up to James, and took the younger's arm into his grasp. Hiro immediately stopped walking.

"Is he alive?" The twenty nine year old whispered. "Thomas, is he alive?"

James looked at him with remorseful eyes. "I- I don't know…"

Edward's eyes darkened with rage and sadness, and he unknowingly tightened his grip on James' arm, causing him to hiss.

Then he let go as if nothing happened. "Let's go…"

…

Edward burst through the door of Tidmouth. "EVERYONE! EVERYONE, GET! UP! NOW!" He screamed as loud as he could.

Immediately, doors opened, and siblings ran downstairs, dazed and confused, for they had all been sleeping moments before.

"Edward?" Spencer asked, his voice riddled with sleep. "What- what's going on?"

Hiro walked in behind Edward, holding a now sleeping, but still shivering, James in his arms.

Flora's eyes widened. "What- what happened?!"

"James went for a walk a while ago." Hiro explained briefly. "He walked into the forest farther than he intended, and his leg and side wounds opened up, and he was exposed to the cold for too long. But… he found Thomas- in the very least, found Thomas' last known location."

Everyone gasped.

"And now, we're going to rescue him." Came Edward's voice. "Everyone, get dressed. Whiff, call the police and Sir Topham Hatt. Inform them of what we know." He commanded.

Whiff nodded, and ran to the kitchen, whereas everyone else ran back to their rooms.

Everyone except for Rosie and Gordon, who went up to Edward, their faces pale, but full of hope.

"You- you found Thomas?" Rosie asked quietly. "Our baby brother..?"

"I didn't." Edward said. "James did. And it hurt him to do so… but now, we're going to rescue him."

Gordon inhaled deeply, his blue eyes filled with hatred. "When I get my hands on that- that… _monster_ for what he's done to Thomas I'm going to-"

"Do nothing."

Gordon looked at Edward, who was now facing away from them, with wide, angry eyes. He was about to protest until Edward turned around.

Rosie and Gordon's eyes widened.

Edward's eyes were cold and icy, and his face emotionless, and yet, it seemed like his face was portraying a deep hatred for something.

"You will do nothing of the sort, Gordon." Edward said quietly. "At least, not yet. What you will do is, you will follow me upstairs, to our room. And get dressed. Is that understood?"

Gordon looked down. "Yes Edward…"

"Good." Then Edward went upstairs, with Rosie and Gordon behind him.

Quickly, they ran into their room, and threw on random clothes before running out the door.

However, Edward stopped in front of his nightstand.

Quietly, he leaned down, and opened the bottom drawer. When he did, he was met with a silver gleam.

Edward looked down at the medium sized silver handgun partially covered by a dark red cloth.

Silently, he reached into his nightstand, and pulled out the gun, and a package of ammo.

Then he walked out of his room, loading and readying the gun…

…

"Why can't I go, Hiro?!"

"Because you're not strong enough, James! You need to rest!"

"No I don't! I'm fine now! I just needed to warm up!"

"But your wounds have reopened!"

"I'm _fine_!"

Edward jogged down the stairs to see Hiro and James arguing. Feeling little emotion at the moment, he placed his now loaded gun on the inside of his belt, and tugged his shirt down over it.

"Let him go, Hiro." He said. "If he says he's fine, then let him go. We don't have time for arguing. Besides, James knows where to go."

Hiro stared at the slightly older man. He wanted to protest, but he knew Edward was right. "Alright…"

Edward then ran outside, to be met with groups of police officers, and a still heavily bandaged Diesel 10.

"Diesel 10." Edward said, mild shock painting his face.

"It isn't true…" He gasped. "Tell me… it isn't…"

Edward sighed. "It is."

Emotion tackled Diesel 10's face faster than ever. Anger, sadness, disbelief, relief, and shock.

"But, we know where he is." Edward said. "James found his Father. Where his Father is, Thomas is. We know it."

Diesel 10 nodded. "I'll follow your lead, old timer."

Edward nodded in reply, before turning to four groups of police officers. "Listen up." He said in a commanding tone. "What we're going to do is-"

"Uh, Sir, _I'm_ the police chief, it should be me giving the orders."

Edward snapped his head towards the man. "I understand that, Sir. But this is my little brother's life on the line. You can give the orders for your men, but we're going by _my_ plan."

The police chief sighed, knowing Edward wouldn't budge. "Alright."

"Now." Edward said immediately. "Here's what's happening. This is James." He said, gesturing to the seventeen year old red head. "He knows where to go. So, we'll follow his direction."

Everyone nodded.

"Then. I want a group of police officers on each side of the house. But make sure you stay hidden. We're not letting this man escape and harm another innocent." Edward said. "You'll surround the house, and ambush him. You can either wait until he comes out on his own, then jump him, or barge into the house, and force him out."

The police chief hummed. "That's… actually a good plan." He mused. "Alright men, you heard him. Follow the red head and keep hidden."

…

James panted, and held onto Hiro's arm more tightly in an attempt to keep himself steady. His legs hurt so much, but he would keep going. But that didn't stop Hiro from worrying.

"James, are you alright?" Hiro whispered.

"I'm… alright." James panted. "I can do this."

No sooner did he say those words, he froze. "Everyone stop!" He whispered urgently.

Everyone did, and looked at James with confusion and slight worry.

James just shook his head, and pointed ahead. "We're here…"

The police chief needed no other explanation as he looked ahead. "Alright men. Keep quiet, and move out!"

…

Thomas gasped in relief as he felt the chains that were holding him down, loosen and fall to the floor.

But his relief was short lived as he felt a heavy weight on his forearm. He winced as he felt his Father's fingers clamp round his arm. Alan's burly, browned fingers dug deep into his soft, ivory skin, no doubt going to leave bruises.

"Let go, you're hurting me!" Thomas cried, trying to break free.

"Hurting you, am I?" Sneered Alan, squeezing Thomas' arm tighter. "If you dare try to escape, I will _hurt_ you far worse than this. Got it?"

Thomas, not wanting to risk Alan breaking his arms or legs, quieted; but his bright, baby blue eyes were burning with an intense rage and hatred- but also fear.

Alan's own sapphire eyes were aflame with loathing for the son he created 15 years ago. Thomas shouldn't be alive.

Then, a calculating look crossed his face at that thought, and he allowed himself to smile at the cruel deed he was about to do.

Smirking to himself, Alan walked across the basement floor, dragging Thomas with him. Then he stomped up the stairs, going deliberately slow, so Thomas was dragged harshly across the metal steps.

Thomas cried out and whimpered feeling the broken, sharp, metal steps scrape across his back and shoulders, making his entire backside tingle and bleed.

Once they reached the top, Alan unlocked the doors, and dragged the fifteen year old through the house.

When they reached the kitchen, he started to yank Thomas along the wooden floor, humming a little tune as he did so.

Thomas tried to free himself; but his Father was much stronger than he was, and he felt hopelessly trapped as his feet scraped along the ground. He felt splinters enter his poor feet, and he began to whimper as his feet began bleeding.

Alan dragged Thomas over to a small and dusty cabinet made of wood and glass, and opened it. The fifteen year old gasped as he saw rows upon rows of glass bottles standing to attention, like soldiers in a military parade.

Right in the middle was a small blue bottle labelled:

 _'Contains benzodiazepines. Please proceed with caution.'_

Thomas racked his brains, desperately trying to remember what that strange word meant as Alan opened the bottle and tipped out seven pills into the palm of his hand.

"Now, hold still, Thomas," Alan sneered as he neared the boy.

In one last act of defiance, and possibly the only way to save his life, Thomas held his free hand over his mouth, hoping he'd made the right move.

Big mistake.

Suddenly, he felt something clamp over his nose, and he found himself gagging and struggling to breathe. He started choking from lack of air; until, unable to take it anymore, allowed his hand to slide from his face, ever so slightly, to breathe.

It was then that his hand was tugged away from his lips, and he was forced to stand- and then, he felt seven large lumps being shoved into his mouth and down his throat- alongside a pitcher of water.

Thomas choked and gasped as he flailed around, trying to get help. But, worryingly, he was beginning to sway and his vision was growing fuzzier. His legs were shaking, and his head felt as though he was drowning in wet cement.

He fell to the ground onto his hands and knees, crying out weakly in terror and fear.

He longed to be sick; hoping his body will save him, but he didn't have the strength to throw up. And besides, Alan might beat him up again.

Thomas gasped and dry heaved- his body's natural response to its airways being blocked.

He whimpered, feeling his body grow weak, and his breathing and heartbeat slowing.

He would never see Edward again…

 _You're doing so well Thomas! I think you nearly know as much about cars as I do now!_

He would never see Rosie again…

 _That's a good game! Here I come, little brother! Splish splash splosh!_

He would never see Gordon again...

 _That's alright Thomas! You made me laugh!_

He would never see any of his friends again…

 _Go Thomas! Go! You can do it!_

 _I would love to be your friend, Thomas._

 _We'll get through this, Thomas._

 _You're the greatest friend we could ever ask for…_

He would never… get to live his life.

He completely collapsed to the ground, his breathing coming out in short and heavy gasps.

Slowly, his eyes fluttered shut like blue butterflies, and, with his head still aching, and his limbs weak and shaky- he allowed himself to let go...

…

Alan smiled cruelly as he watched his son's last breath leave his small, beaten body. Watching the child lay lifeless on the floor felt extremely satisfying for him. After staring at him for a few minutes, Alan scooped Thomas up, and carried him back down to the basement, whistling nonchalantly without a care in the world.

Kicking the door open, and walking down the steps, he dumped the body back onto the cold cement floor, and then made his way upstairs to drink himself into a stupor.

…

"It's been fifteen minutes." Stanley hissed quietly from his crouched position behind a tree. "We should barge into the house now!"

Percy, who was by Stanley, hit him in the shoulder. "No!" He whispered harshly. "That could put Thomas in more danger! We have to wait a little longer."

Edward, who was standing behind a tree with his back against the tree trunk, and head turned towards the house, silently pulled out his gun from his belt. Keeping it hidden, he moved it behind his back, and cocked it. Then, he looked to the police chief, and nodded once.

He nodded back in reply. "Alright men, move in!"

Four groups of police officers moved forwards, away from their positions, and pressed themselves against each side of the house.

Two officers went to each side of the front door, and another went to the front of the door.

Once he received the go ahead, the man in front of the door kicked it open, and five police men rushed in.

"Hey! What are you doing in my house?!" Came an angry voice from inside.

"Move! Move! Don't let him go! Keep a firm grip!"

Then two police officers walked out with a struggling, and obviously drunk, Alan Fearnley in their grasp, while three others followed.

Everyone immediately ran forwards and started yelling angrily, demanding Thomas' freedom.

"Where is he?! Let him go!"

"Where is our little brother, you monster!"

"Give us our friend back!"

Alan just smirked. "Oh… him? He's just- taking a nap…"

Rosie felt anger rush through her. "You're a sick man…"

Alan laughed. "What do you care? Thomas cost me everything. He had to be taught a lesson…"

Gordon growled. "Thomas called you out! He called you out for the liar you are!" He bellowed. "If you truly loved your family, you wouldn't have caused them so much pain!"

"You'll be put away for the rest of your life!" Spencer growled. "We'll see to it!"

Alan chuckled quietly. "Oh you can try… but, no matter how many times you put me away in prison, I'll always find a way out…"

"You won't be getting out this time." Came a new, dark voice. "Not if you're dead."

Then three gunshots rang out through the night.

Each hit Alan, two in the stomach, and one in the chest. In only a matter of seconds, Alan slumped out of the police men's hold- dead.

Everyone gasped, and backed away to the sides from where the shots came from.

When they did, there was Edward.

He was standing completely still, his left arm by his side, and his right arm still aimed at where Alan was. He was holding the gun firmly in his grasp, the barrel still smoking.

His eyes were narrowed, cold and icy. And his lips were pressed firmly together, but soon, they formed a deadly smirk.

He let a dark chuckle leave his mouth as he lowered the gun, and stared at the body of the man who caused them all so much pain.

He kept his eyes there, until a whimper snapped him back to reality.

Everyone was staring at him with wide, shocked eyes.

Edward sighed, before unloading the gun, and throwing it off to the side. Then he looked at Percy, Toby, James, Emily, and Stanley with firm eyes. "Go."

…

The five teens didn't need to be told twice what to do as they all ran into the house.

"Thomas! Thomas, where are you?!"

"Please, if you can hear us, say something!"

The group walked close together inside the dark and musty house, looking around in fear.

"This place is so scary…" Emily whispered, holding onto Stanley's arm.

Stanley nodded. "Indeed…"

"Thomas! Thomas, please! Where are you?!" James cried out into the silent house, his dark green eyes filling with tears.

"Guys! Over here!"

Toby, James, Emily, and Stanley all whipped around, hoping for a brief moment, that it was Thomas calling them. But their hopes were dashed when they realised it was Percy.

Regardless, they ran over to their friend, who was by a slightly open door.

"It's a basement." Percy said. "Maybe… he's here."

The five teenagers trembled, but made their way down the dark stairway nonetheless.

When they reached the basement, they had to stop and let their eyes adjust to the darkness.

Toby felt along the cold brick wall until his fingers brushed over a light switch. Quickly, he flicked it on.

But when he did, all of them screamed.

There was Thomas, lying motionless on the ground. His body was beaten, bruised, and covered in all sorts of cuts and gashes.

He was situated in what seemed to be a loose fetal position. His back was halfway curved, his head bowed, and his legs were bent and drawn almost up to his torso.

He was very thin. Even with the minimal clothing he had on, that still seemed too big for him.

Half of his face was bloodied, and the blood reached the top of his head, staining his bright blue hair a faded shade of red. His chest seemed to be partially caved in, and blood seeped through the front of his torn hospital gown and onto the floor.

His feet were littered with infected cuts and splinters. And, just peeking up from his shoulders, fresh cuts could be seen that lead down to his back, that were certainly longer and more gruesome.

His head had many indents and open gashes, from being hit with a metal pipe. His entire body had chain marks from being wrapped tightly in chains, and his face and throat had dark purple hand marks from where he had been hit and choked.

The group of friends knew undoubtedly, that… Thomas was gone.

James was the first to fully react. He started shaking violently, before falling to his knees.

He grabbed his head, and yanked at his hair, then, he started screaming.

He screamed, and he screamed, and he screamed. He screamed as loud as he could, before he started sobbing and coughing harshly.

Behind him, Emily was crying into Stanley's shoulder, while Stanley held onto her as tightly as he could, afraid that, if he let go, she'd collapse. Tears were rolling down his own face, and he placed his head atop of Emily's.

Toby was away from the commotion with Percy. He was on his knees, rubbing Percy's back as the seventeen year old threw up. Percy was finally able to catch a break, and he breathed deeply.

"I… I don't want to b-be." Percy gasped, tears spilling from his eyes, and onto the ground. "I-I'm not ready!" He screamed.

"Read- ready for what?" Toby hiccupped, fiercely wiping at the tears in his eyes.

"To be the youngest!" Percy cried, whirling around to face the slightly older boy. "I wasn't the youngest! It- it was Thomas who was! But now, he's- he's…"

Toby shook his head, and pulled Percy into a hug. "I know… I know…"

Percy cried and wrapped his arms around Toby's neck, trying desperately to steady himself.

James finally collapsed fully onto the ground, utterly exhausted. Then he was being pulled up onto his feet by Stanley and Emily.

James gasped and coughed more as he was lifted up. "How- how are we going to tell Ed-Edward? O-or Rosie and Gordon..?" He asked weakly, looking up at the two older teens.

Stanley and Emily looked at each other completely lost.

"We don't know…" Stanley said after a few moments.

Once James was securely back on his feet, he took a deep breath, and walked over to Thomas. Each step he took, dread made its way into his heart.

Quietly, he knelt down and placed his hand on Thomas' cheek.

When he did, he tried his hardest to compress a sob.

Thomas' usual warmth was no longer there. In its place was a foreign coldness that seemed to be permanently etched into his skin. _Of course, it will be from now on…_

James whimpered. Thomas didn't deserve to be seen like this. So, he took off his coat, and wrapped it around the fifteen year old's body.

Then he very carefully picked Thomas up bridal style, before turning to the rest of his friends.

When he did, everyone's breath hitched.

"Let's go…" James whispered.

…

The remains of Alan Fearnley's front door was moved and kicked out of the way.

Everyone waiting outside, looked towards the door with hope.

Once the splinters were cleared, Stanley and Emily walked out first with their heads down, side by side, holding hands. Next to emerge were Toby and Percy.

Their heads were down as well, and their hands were intertwined as they quietly followed the others.

Then all four of them let go of each other's hands, and moved to the sides.

That's when James came out.

He was standing up straight, his head erect, and carrying out Thomas.

James bit his lip to keep silent as he walked out.

Edward's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. Tears started pouring from his eyes before he had a chance to stop them. "No…"

James looked to Edward, and slowly walked over to him. When he reached the older man, he gently place Thomas in his big brother's arms. "I'm… I'm so sorry, E-Edward…" He gasped, and backed away, his head down.

Edward stared down at… _the body_ of his broken baby brother in his arms with disbelief.

 _The body…_

Edward dropped to the ground, and held Thomas close to his heart.

"THOMAS! THOMAS, THOMAS, NO!"

Edward's screams echoed throughout the dark forest as he quaked with sorrow. "I'm so sorry! I-I wasn't there in ti-time! I FAILED YOU!" Edward sobbed, clutching the small bundle closer.

Then, two more screams were heard.

Rosie and Gordon.

Gordon swayed and fell to the ground, beating the white snow beneath him.

Rosie went down with him, and hugged Gordon, trying so hard to get him to stop. "Gordon, Gordon… little brother, please stop…" She sobbed.

Gordon did, and turned fully into his older sister's embrace, hugging her with all his might as he started to cry.

Not a single eye was dry as everyone wept for their fallen friend and brother. Even the police men were crying.

Edward held Thomas tenderly, and brushed some still soft pieces of hair away from Thomas' eyes.

"Th-Thomas… I'm so sorry… I failed you…"


	15. Chapter 14

**Behind the Most Cherished Smile is the Saddest Frown Ch. 14**

 **A.N. Warning… suicide of a major character (I have no chill… I'm so sorry) (actually, no I'm not)**

…

" _Hiro…?" Percy asked softly, staring at the older man next to him as he held Henry's hand._

 _Hiro clenched his eyes shut harder before sighing. "Yes… Percy?"_

" _Things- things will get better… right?"_

 _Hiro looked at Percy, who was staring at him with wide, hopeful green eyes._

 _Hiro took a deep breath._

" _No… no, it won't…"_

…

James let one more sob leave his lips before he collapsed to the ground in his destroyed room. Just the day before, he, along with Stanley, Emily, Toby, and Percy had discovered the body of their friend, fifteen year old Thomas Hill.

The day after is when James finally understood that it was real.

That Thomas was… dead.

The image of Thomas lying there on the cold floor wouldn't leave James' mind; and every time he closed his eyes, that's all he saw.

James clutched his left hand into a fist, desperately trying to bring its warmth back. When he touched Thomas' cheek when he found him, the cold burrowed deep into his skin, forever burning his hand with an icy coldness.

He screamed into the empty house as he felt himself shatter even more.

"It's not fair! He didn't deserve this!" James sobbed. "Please…" He gasped. "Please, don't let it be true…" But there was only silence for an answer.

James looked to the ground in hopelessness, before racking a hand through his messy red hair.

Shakily, he got to his feet, before walking to the door. Silently, he unlocked it, and left the room.

As he walked down the stairs, he kept his eyes averted to the ground as dark thoughts flew through his mind.

Once he reached the first floor, James grabbed a piece of paper and a pen before walking to the kitchen. Without a single sound, he sat down at the counter, and began writing.

When James was finished, he read it over two more times to make sure it was right. Then he signed the bottom, before taping it shut.

Reaching into a drawer on his left, the red head pulled out a pocket knife, before leaving the house.

As he shut the door, James left the note taped to the glass window before walking away.

It still hurt him to walk, but he didn't care. He walked along the roads, the sidewalks, and on the sides of the empty tracks until he reached his destination: Black Loch.

James sighed in anguish. This place brought back so many memories.

This was the place where he, Stanley, Emily, Toby, Percy, and Thomas would often come to hang out after they had finished all of their jobs. They would wade around in the shallow parts of the water, throw skipping stones, and tell jokes and stories until sundown.

When Thomas first arrived at the island, James, Stanley, Emily, Toby, and Percy would often bring him here to go swimming as well.

They knew that there was an actual beach, but the group of friends preferred Black Loch, because no one else really went there. Just them.

Their own little safe haven.

James let a weak chuckle leave his lips. Thomas was often scared of the water at first…

" _Come on, Thomas let's go!" Emily called out as she jumped from her engine, with a towel wrapped around her. When she reached the beach like part of the lake, she let the towel drop onto a larger rock, revealing her emerald coloured one piece bathing suit._

 _Stanley, Percy, Toby, and James soon followed after in silver-white, green, brown, and red swimming trunks._

 _Thomas however, stayed behind in James' engine (since he didn't have his own yet), keeping his black towel wrapped tightly around him. "I- I think I'll just stay back..!" Thomas called out, laughing nervously._

" _What?" Stanley asked, shocked._

" _Oh please, Thomas!" Percy pleaded. "You can't stay up there_ _ **every**_ _time we come here!"_

 _Thomas shuffled his feet together. "Well, no. But I'm fine up here!"_

" _Oh, nonsense Thomas!" James called out to his friend as he ran back up to the fifteen year old. "It's perfectly safe!" He said as he held out his hand._

 _Thomas stared at him with suspicious eyes before hesitantly taking his hand._

 _Gently, James tugged Thomas out of his engine, and towards the lake._

" _It's just water, Thomas." Percy smiled as the two approached the water's edge. "It can't hurt you."_

" _I know that." Thomas said. "But… I can't swim…" He mumbled, looking to the side._

 _All of his friends smiled sympathetically. "Well, why didn't you say anything sooner, Thomas?" Toby asked. "We can teach you!"_

" _Yeah!" Stanley smiled. "We're great swimmers!"_

" _You can count on us." Emily smiled._

 _Thomas let a small laugh leave him at his friend's enthusiasm. "Alright, alright."_

 _The fifteen year old then laid his towel with everyone else's, and looked back at his friends._

" _Ready?" James smiled, and held out his hand once more towards the younger._

 _Thomas smiled back. "Ready." Then he took James' hand._

"Ready…" James whispered, staring down at the lake. He closed his eyes and sighed.

It was so… _shocking_ how fast things had changed.

Thomas arrived earlier in spring, and had only been on Sodor for less than a year, before he was ripped away from them so suddenly.

Christmas had finally passed and it made James sick. They found Thomas on _Christmas Day_ …

New Year's was coming up in five days- just less than a week. But nothing and no one felt happy- how could they?

Quietly, he crouched down, and slid down the small rocky embankment until he was just inches away from the shallows.

He looked into the water at his reflection and cringed.

It had only been a day, and yet, James looked so different.

There were circles forming under his eyes since he had not been sleeping, his hair was tangled and messy, his clothes were disheveled, and his eyes were dark.

James looked away from the reflective surface in disgust, before kicking his foot across the water, distorting the image of the broken teen.

He sighed and looked out at the landscape, before looking at the pocket knife grasped securely in his right hand.

Then, he started walking into the lake.

He walked until he was waist deep. The icy waves rocked back and forth against his clothes, soaking them, making them cling to his skin like magnet to steel.

He shivered as he felt his body temperature lower, but he didn't back away. He walked a little further, and turned left, going back to the shallower parts of the lake.

He stopped when he reached a tall and flat rock and when the water was knee deep.

James turned and sat down, leaning against the rock, submerging himself in the cold waves. It reached just above his chest and he took slow, deep breaths, fighting his body's urge to get up and leave the water.

He brought the pocket knife out of the water to his line of sight, and glared at it as it sat in the palm of his hand. He flipped the knife open, and stared at the silver blade.

Slowly, tears filled his eyes, and streamed down his face.

He looked up to the sky- it was getting slightly darker.

He didn't have it in him to try and whisper a goodbye to the winds, so, he closed his eyes.

"I'm… I'm so sorry…" He sobbed quietly as he looked down.

He glanced back at the knife in his hand. Quietly, he brought it to his wrist.

A gleam of silver could be seen moving quickly, and a gasp of pain was heard shortly after. Just a few seconds later, another silver gleam was seen, and a small hiss floated through the air.

James' arms fell into the water, and the knife fell from his hand, and floated to the bottom of the lake. Slowly, the water around him started turning a dark shade of crimson.

James could feel his energy start to fade as his breathing slowed, and his eyes started closing.

Suddenly-

" _James."_

His eyes flew open in shock. Had someone found him? That voice… sounded so familiar.

" _James."_

He slowly looked around. "H-Hello…?"

Then he saw something he never thought he'd see again.

James' eyes widened. "T-Thomas…"

And, true to his word, there was Thomas. He was standing right in front of him, a small, sad smile on his face. There was a light blue aura surrounding him; it made him look beautiful.

There were no scars, scratches or cuts anywhere on his body – he looked perfect. Like the day James first saw him.

"Thomas…" James repeated, now fighting to keep his eyes open. _He was so tired._ "I'm so sorry…"

Thomas shook his head, and knelt down in front of him, the water rippling around him. "No… don't be." He said. "You did your best. But now, it's time to go."

"Go…?"

"Home." Thomas said quietly, as he held out his hand. "Come on… are you ready?"

James let a small smile grace his lips. Slowly his hand reached for Thomas'.

With one more final and graceful breath, James whispered. "Ready…"

…

Hiro wiped the sweat from his forehead as he stepped out of his engine and started walking towards Tidmouth.

"Tough day…" Spencer said quietly.

Hiro nodded in reply. "Indeed…" He sighed. "I wish we didn't have to work… or in the very least, that Edward, Rosie, and Gordon didn't have to… I mean, they just… lost their brother…"

Spencer only quietly agreed, as tears filled his eyes at being reminded of losing someone relatively close to him.

Soon their friends and siblings joined them as they walked back to their home.

As they reached the door they noticed something white gently blowing in the breeze. "What's that?" Percy asked staring at the piece of paper taped to the window.

Rosie walked forwards and took it. "It's a note." She said as she opened it and read through its contents. When she did, her face paled.

"H-Hiro…" Rosie said unsteadily as she turned to him. Shakily, she extended her arm, handing the note to him. "It- it's from James…"

Hiro's breathed hitched in nervousness. Silently, he took the note. When he read it, a small cry left his lips as he covered his mouth.

"What does it say, Hiro?" Gordon asked urgently.

Hiro took a few deep breaths before he read the note:

' _I'm so sorry, Hiro... but I was so tired._

 _It was impossible to get him off my mind... especially after what he went though. I've had a hundred thoughts, and he was ninety nine..._

 _Maybe, there was a chance that he would have been mine, but now..._

 _I'm just broken inside._

 _Please don't be mad at me… I love you._

 _Forever and Always,  
James Noble'_

Everyone's blood ran cold at the words. Then Toby ran out of Tidmouth, his eyes wide. "You're room is completely destroyed and James isn't there!"

Hiro's breath became labored with worry.

"Black Loch!"

Everyone looked towards Emily. "What?" Edward asked quietly.

"Black Loch." Emily repeated. "That's where we'd all go if any of us were feeling down."

Stanley snapped his fingers. "That's right! Come on, everyone! Let's go!"

Then Stanley, Emily, Toby, and Percy ran off towards the lake with their siblings in tow.

It was half past sundown when they finally reached Black Loch, and started calling out for their friend.

"James! James, where are you?!"

"James, please! This- this isn't funny!"

"Where are you?!"

Toby ran over piles of rocks, looking over the lake, to see if he could find the seventeen year old.

His gaze stopped however when his eyes saw a tall rock. Leaning against said object was something… red. The water around it was also red.

It made Toby shiver in discomfort until he realised what it was- _who_ it was.

"James!" Toby cried out. "I've- I've found him! He's over there!" He cried as he pointed to the red.

Hiro's eyes widened. Quickly, he ran to the edge, and jumped, landing waist deep in water. As quick as he could manage, Hiro trudge through the water until he was forced to go under from the height.

Not five seconds later, he reappeared just a foot in front of James. As he stared at his younger brother, Hiro's eyes widened, and he screamed. He fell to his knees, plunging half his body into the water, and took James into his arms before he started sobbing.

Upon seeing how Hiro reacted, everyone's eyes widened.

"No…" Emily gasped.

"No… not him…" Percy whimpered.

"Please…" Toby whispered.

Stanley only let a gasp of disbelief leave him.

After a few moments, Hiro composed himself, and gently lifted James out of the water with him. When he did, James' arms fell to his sides, exposing his wrists. In doing so, it showed one clean cut along both of his wrists that were each still bleeding.

Hiro closed his eyes, and gently hefted both himself and his little brother out of the water and onto dry land. Then he walked back to the rest of the Steam Team, carrying James bridal style.

"H-Hiro…" Spencer whispered. "I'm- I'm so-"

But Hiro shook his head, tears streaming down his face. "Please… let's just go… James is cold, he never liked to be cold…"

Everyone looked at him with remorse filled eyes, before they all left.

No one on Sodor knew how to react to the news that James was gone. They had already suffered a loss- but, a second one? It was just so _overwhelming_.

But they had no choice but to accept it as it was, and quietly arrange everything.

Hiro and Edward both agreed that they would lay Thomas and James to rest on the same day. Seeing as how close they were, it felt right.

…

Come the day of Thomas' and James' funeral, it started raining.

 _How cliché…_ Hiro thought bitterly. But his thoughts were elsewhere. He was looking at Percy, who was staring at him with wide, shocked eyes. After all, Hiro did just say things would never get better.

"W-what do you mean…?" Percy asked quietly.

Hiro sighed. "In order for things to get better, Percy, everything has to go back to the way it was before. But, it won't in this case… Thomas and James are both gone. And nothing can change that."

Percy felt tears well up in his eyes.

"We'll learn to deal with these losses, yes. But it will never get better. Take Gordon, for instance." Hiro said, looking over at said person, who was holding Edward and Rosie's hands. "Look at him. That man was once prideful, arrogant, and boastful. But now… he's a shell of his former self."

"But he'll learn to deal with it- the loss of his brother. He'll start smiling again, he'll laugh again, and he may even get his attitude back. But deep down… that hurt, that void, will always be there." Hiro said.

"So, Percy. To answer your question: no. Things will never get better. But we'll learn to deal with it."

Percy stared at the older man, a sad, yet thoughtful look on his face. "I… I suppose you're right." Then he turned his attention back to the preacher.

"And so- with these final, but not last thoughts for the young souls we lost, we lay these children to rest." The preacher announced sadly as two coffins, one red and blue were lowered into the ground. "May they finally be happy…"

Quiet murmurs, goodbyes, and sobs were the answers as the ground was filled with dirt, solidifying the teen's farewells.

…

Months had passed, since the deaths and funerals of fifteen year old Thomas Hill and seventeen year old James Noble.

It was now spring, and just as Hiro had said, everyone did start smiling again. They started laughing again, and they returned to their former selves. But the hurt, the pain… _the void_ of them gone still lingered inside everyone.

That was especially true for Edward. His head was down, and his hands were shoved deeply into his pockets, as he walked to Black Loch- the place where Thomas and James were buried.

When he reached the lakeside, he walked to the two graves, and gently sat down next to them.

"H-hey guys…" He whispered. "How- how is it up there?" He asked. "I hope you're happy. I know you must have been hurting… I know you must have been scared but," Edward took a deep breath. "I hope you can hear me, because I want you to hear this."

Edward took another breath. "Both of you, were so, _so_ brave." He said breathlessly. "I know I couldn't have gone through _half_ of what both of you went through. Thomas… you precious child… you did your very best; and I'm so proud of you. I love you so much." He gasped.

"James… oh… you were so relentless." Edward laughed weakly. "You never, _ever_ gave up. I hope both of you are finally together, and I hope you're with your Mother, Thomas." He praised. "Justice, has been served. Alan can't hurt anyone ever again."

After a few moments of silence, Edward jumped. "Oh, I almost forgot." He said as he reached into his jacket pocket, and pulled out a small blue box with a light blue ribbon tied around it. "I was supposed to give this to you on Christmas, Thomas- but I never could. So, I'll give it to you now."

Slowly, Edward pulled the ribbon off the box. Then he re-tied it on Thomas' grave before opening the lid of the dark blue package. When he did, the twenty nine year old reached in, and pulled out a golden locket. It had a snowflake charm, and when he clicked it open, it revealed a picture of Edward, Rosie, Gordon, and Thomas all together.

"I hope you like it, Thomas." Edward smiled softly. "Rosie and Gordon thought it'd be perfect for you." Then he gently laid it in front of Thomas' grave, the chain resting on the headstone.

Edward stared at the two graves for a while until tears started filling his eyes. He laid in front of both gravestones on his side, with his head hidden in arms; then he started sobbing.

A warm breeze suddenly blew over Edward- it made him gasp and looked up, propping himself onto his forearms. Then childlike laughter rang through the air.

" _Don't worry Edward! We're safe! Mother says hi!"_

" _Don't cry Edward- we're fine!"_

Edward smiled, and through his tears, he let a laugh escape his lips.

"You're happy…"

…

 **Love is stronger than death even though it can't stop death from happening, but no matter how hard death tries, it can't separate people from love. It can't take away our memories either. In the end, life is stronger than death.**

 **~Unknown**


	16. ALSO

Hello! R.A. here. So... this story is finished. Sorry about that. But, I need to clear something up.

To the guest, who left this review:

 _I love the story so far but Thomas x James irks me coz James is older than Thomas that makes him a pedophile even tho Thomas is almost close to being 16 since he's only 15 and a small teen boy_

Thank you for liking the story- however, what you said about James isn't true. The laws in my state say that when someone is 15, and the other person is 17, it's completely fine for them to date.

And when the one person turns 18, and the other turns 16, it's still legal for them to date. Because as long as there is no more than three years of an age difference, it's not pedophilia.

So no. James would not be a pedophile at all.

If I had made Thomas 13 and James 20, then that would have been pedophilia.

But move besides that, they're dead. So neither of them will turn 18. James is now forever 17 and Thomas is forever 15.

Thank you to all readers who stuck with me for this story :)

 **Stay awesome you precious gems! ~R.A.**


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